Announcing the Recently Released Environment and Energy Landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean Trends Analysis Report
It can also introduce harmful seeds, parasites, and viruses that decrease agriculture and aquaculture production reducing incomes and introducing new diseases to humans. Increased wildlife trafficking can even lead to increased violence and crime.
The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) recently released Environment and Energy Landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean Trends Analysis focuses on five key environmental and energy trends likely to affect LAC over the next ten years and prioritizes them based on their potential impact on USAID’s programming in the region. These trends include the expanded use of market-based mechanisms for environmental management and conservation, increased adoption of climate adaptation, increased planetary health issues, increased access and use of modern energy sources, and increased exploitation of natural resources.
Despite these challenges presented by wildlife tracking, solutions exist to reduce and prevent its harmful effects on the biodiversity and communities of LAC. The multi-country Public Participation in Compliance with Wildlife Laws in the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) Countries Program has raised public awareness and increased wildlife protections.
Through the CAFTA-DR program, the Humane Society International increased public education on wildlife trafficking by conducting environmental education activities for youth, educating community leaders on wildlife trafficking laws and alternatives, creating a digital trafficking map to better monitor wildlife trafficking, distributing surveys on public awareness, and developing public awareness campaigns. The program has reached 11 million people with messages on the importance of protecting species. A survey found the percentage of respondents not doing anything to protect wildlife dropped from 41 percent before the campaigns to just 13 percent after.
The program's public awareness efforts serve as an example of how donors like the USAID can reduce wildlife trafficking to increase biodiversity and conservation in the region. The LAC Trends Analysis aims to help USAID and its partners gain a more thorough understanding of environmental and energy trends affecting the region to help inform their actions, investment, and partnerships to improve environmental and energy programming.
The report aims to help USAID and its partners gain a more thorough understanding of environmental and energy trends affecting the region to help inform their actions, investment, and partnerships to improve environmental and energy programming. In addition to the full report, a summary report provides a high-level overview of the five trends, including recommendations and calls to action to mitigate increased wildlife trafficking and other exploitation of natural resources that threaten biodiversity and conservation in LAC.
