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Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is exceptionally biodiverse. It contains about half of the world's remaining tropical forests, nearly one-fifth of its coastal habitats, and some of its most productive agricultural and marine areas. But agriculture, fishing and other human activities linked to rapid population and economic growth increasingly threaten that biodiversity. Moreover, poverty, weak regulatory capacity, and limited political will hamper conservation.
Given this dilemma, it is critically important to design conservation strategies on the basis of the best available information about both biodiversity and the track records of the various policies that have been used to protect it. This rigorously researched book has three key aims. It describes the status of biodiversity in LAC, the main threats to this biodiversity, and the drivers of these threats. It identifies the main policies being used to conserve biodiversity and assesses their effectiveness and potential for further implementation.
It proposes five specific lines of practical action for conserving LAC biodiversity, based on: green agriculture; strengthening terrestrial protected areas and co-management; improving environmental governance; strengthening coastal and marine resource management; and improving biodiversity data and policy evaluation.
1. Introduction
2. Status and Trends
3. Policies
A. Regulation and Co-management
B. Market-based Approaches
C. Other
4. Lines of Action
5. LAC Biodiversity Actors
Allen Blackman is a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington DC, USA. Rebecca Epachin-Niell is a Fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington DC, USA. Juha Siikamäki is a Fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington DC, USA. Daniel Velez-Lopez was a Research Assistant at Resources for the Future and is currently a PhD candidate, Harvard University School of Public Policy, USA.
"At last: the handbook on biodiversity conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean we all have needed [...] with all the considerations necessary for best practice choices [...] a revolutionary contribution."
– Tom Lovejoy, University Professor, George Mason University and Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation.
"A great addition to literature, this book starts by describing LAC biodiversity's status and progresses to a critical study of the main conservation policies. It is here that the book excels becoming a fascinating read for those involved in the field and a compulsory one from the management and education perspective."
– Francisco Alpízar, Founder, Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program (LACEEP) , Director, Economics and Environment for Development (EfD-CATIE) and Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg.
"This book has been instrumental in setting new directions for conservation investments at the Interamerican Development Bank and provides the foundation for more effective policy in the future."
– Michele Lemay, Natural Resources Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank.
"This book provides a wealth of data and information, a clear-eyed assessment of the challenges to biodiversity conservation in the region, and a valuable framework for prioritizing policies. It makes it clear that mainstreaming biodiversity will require a continuous and coherent process in which early and well planned commitments will reduce overall costs."
– Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Vice President, Conservation International and Former Minister of Environment, Costa Rica.
