At the 74th United Nations General Assembly, five countries — Bolivia, Jamaica, Uruguay, Saint Kitts and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — ratified the Escazú Agreement, an historic treaty that guarantees environmental rights in the region, provides special protections for environmental human rights defenders and ensures people can play a part in the decision-making necessary to address climate change.
Coffee farmers face a double threat from climate change and dropping prices. But a group of Costa Rican farmers are finding solutions and transforming their corner of the industry.
This paper analyzes the three sovereign parametric disaster risk insurance pools serving developing countries: CCRIF SPC, the African Risk Capacity, and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company. It provides detailed recommendations for each of the pools and their stakeholders and broader recommendations to improve the availability of disaster risk finance for developing countries.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for "bold action and much greater ambition" in fighting climate change. Latin American and Caribbean nations can heed the call by strengthening their national climate plans by 2020 and setting net-zero emissions targets for 2050.
This working paper describes water access challenges in cities of the global south that have been hitherto largely invisible in global indicators. In analyzing 15 cities, we found that piped utility water is the most affordable option, yet, on average, almost half of all households lack access, and most of those that do have access receive intermittent service. This paper highlights four key action areas for cities to improve water access: extending the formal piped water network, addressing context-specific causes of intermittent water service, pursuing diverse strategies to make water affordable, and supporting informal settlement upgrading.
17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean reinforced today their commitment to restore degraded landscapes that are key for sustained economic growth, with less carbon emissions and better agriculture productivity.
For the cash-strapped government of Rio de Janeiro, restoring forests around the city is a smart investment. New research shows that forests can provide Rio with better water quality at lower cost.
The Escazú Agreement was signed by 12 countries during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Four environmental defenders are murdered every week in Latin America and the Caribbean. A new regional agreement aims to protect them and provide all citizens with environmental rights.
More than a quarter of global tree cover loss between 2001 and 2015 was associated with commodity-driven deforestation, not likely to be forested again, finds a new study published in Science.
The Colombian Government – alongside Colombia's leading cocoa company, Casa Luker, and the National Cocoa Federation – pledges to produce deforestation-free and 'peace-friendly' cocoa
A new report from World Resources Institute finds that in many countries, the process to formalize land rights is extremely complex, costly and slow, taking up to 30 years or more but companies can typically secure long-term rights to land in just 30 days to five years.
Un nuevo informe del World Resources Institute (WRI) muestra que en muchos países, el proceso para formalizar los derechos de la tierra es extremadamente complejo, costoso y lento, y tarda hasta 30 años o más, pero las compañías normalmente pueden asegurarse derechos a largo plazo sobre la tierra desde un plazo de tan solo 30 días a cinco años.
This infographic allows you to navigate the process for a community seeking formal land rights in Indonesia, versus for a company securing an oil palm concession.
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines transformative urban change in Porto Alegre, Brazil, through the lens of participatory budgeting. The research focuses on whether and how transformative change has taken place in the city between 1990 and the present, as well examining the recent decline and suspension of participatory budgeting in the city of its birth.
The fourth working paper of WRI’s flagship World Resources Report (WRR), "Towards a More Equal City”, examines different approaches that cities have taken towards the informal self-employed workers and their livelihood activities. After presenting recent data on the size, composition, and contribution of the informal economy, the paper highlights a series of actionable areas for urban change agents to make cities more inclusive and productive.
Luego de un proceso de negociación de seis años, 24 países adoptaron el Acuerdo Regional sobre el Acceso a la Información, la Participación Pública y el Acceso a la Justicia en Asuntos Ambientales en América Latina y el Caribe, conocido como LAC P10. Este acuerdo es el primero legalmente vinculante de América Latina y el Caribe sobre los derechos ambientales, diseñado para proteger a los defensores del medio ambiente, mejorar el acceso a la información ambiental y ampliar la participación pública en la toma de decisiones ambientales, entre otros.
After a six-year negotiation process, 24 countries have adopted the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as LAC P10.The agreement is Latin America and the Caribbean’s first ever legally binding agreement on environmental rights, designed to protect environmental defenders, improve access to environmental information, extend public participation in environmental decision-making processes, and more.