Latin America and Caribbean Congress on Protected Areas

Caribbean Gateway and 13 delegates attend the 3rd Latin America and Caribbean Protected Areas Congress. From October 14-17 2019, 3,086 persons from 59 countries converged in Lima, Peru, for the  International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) and its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) third congress on protected areas (under the theme ‘Solutions for welfare and sustainable development’) for the Latin America and Caribbean Region. The Caribbean Protected Areas Gateway (Caribbean Gateway), through the BIOPAMA programme, ensured representation from 13 of its 15 countries at the congress, which aimed at providing a space for experience exchanges and facilitated debate on the formulation and implementation of public policies, research and academia. Specific objectives of the congress included promoting best management practices of protected areas at the service of society; evaluating and strengthening the contribution of protected areas to international commitments of nature conservation for wellbeing and sustainable development; and demonstrating protected areas in systems, landscape approaches, management of wider territories and integration with social and economic sectors.