5th Annual Conference on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

On February 14, 2020, SDSN staff visited the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES) to attend the 5th Annual Conference on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event explored current trends in innovation, agriculture, foreign affairs, trade, and climate-induced human migration. This year’s theme was Latin America at Home and Abroad: People, Capital, and Natural Resources.

Completely student-organized and led, the event was co-hosted by F&ES and the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) at The MacMillan Center. Speakers and discussions reflected on climate-resilience, sustainable cities, and the interplay between local agriculture challenges and global markets.

Dr. Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Director of the Department of Social Inclusion at the Organization of American States, delivered the first keynote address. She presented on the region’s three main migration flows: Central Americans and Mexicans migrating to the United States, Nicaraguans to Costa Rica, and Venezuelans primarily to South American nations but also other countries. Muñoz-Pogossian also mentioned that in order to mitigate the stress migrants can place on education and health systems in receiving countries, host countries should find ways to grant refugees legal status and work permits as early as possible.

The first panel focused on achieving sustainability for all in cities and urban areas. With Latin America being one of the most urbanized regions in the world at around 80%, cities across the region are facing increasingly urgent problems in housing, transportation, water, waste and sanitation, and safety. The panel aimed at understanding the existing challenges and opportunities in sustainable urbanization in Latin America.

Amanda Maxwell, Director of the Latin America Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, was the second keynote speaker and presented on clean energy, climate change policy, green finance, and efforts to protect ecosystems throughout Latin America. She also mentioned how NRDC advocates for the strengthening of US federal laws and policies that impact the environment of the region, such as voluntary guidelines to protect the Amazon.

The second panel of the day focused on innovations for sustainability and social change. In the dynamic and diverse social and environmental ecosystems of Latin America, innovation can take many forms. The panel sought to present innovations that are helping the world achieve the SDGs, looking both at solutions the region has adapted from abroad and those developed within its borders. Discussions also analyzed the targets and mechanisms of innovation, from optimizing technical practices to improving collaborative efforts.

Panel three highlighted agricultural production. It explored Latin America’s role in global agricultural markets, and the impact of international influences; such as trade, corporations, and investments; on local food security and rural development. It aimed to identify ways the region can ensure local peoples’ well-being, while also allowing the region to remain competitive in global markets. Presentations also looked at the systemic shifts needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture in the region.

Julia Carabias, the final keynote speaker, was especially inspiring to SDSN staff, in no small part because she was the first and only person to explicitly mention the SDGs. She assessed present-day imbalances between nature and society, and expressed concern at how humans globally are extracting more than nature can renew, profoundly altering the planet’s natural processes. Carabias shared her belief that environmental agreements, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the SDGs, are a powerful tool in addressing these challenges.

The final panel provided a broad outlook on Latin America and the Caribbean. Bringing together all three keynote speakers in a powerful, all-women panel, the discussion covered how to scale existing solutions and ways to create the most impact.