Earth Today | CANARI supports call for protection of environment defenders in Latin America, Caribbean

THE CARIBBEAN Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) has come out in support of a call by the Elected Representatives of the Public of the Escazú Agreement for governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to develop an ambitious plan to urgently address the threats faced by environmental defenders in the region.

The call was made at the Second Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Panama between September 27 and 28 and attended by more than 400 participants from across the region.

“Caribbean governments must urgently address the growing threats to environmental defenders in our region who face harassment, intimidation, discrimination and marginalisation,” noted CANARI Executive Director Nicole Leotaud, who is serving as one of the six elected representatives of the public of the Escazú Agreement.

“We need to put strong protections in place before the problem escalates to what we are seeing in Latin America, which is the most dangerous region in the world for people trying to defend their rights to a clean and healthy environment. We cannot be complacent and ignore the increasing threats faced by environmental defenders in Jamaica, Guyana, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname and elsewhere,” she added.

Development of this action plan to protect environmental defenders is a key commitment under the United Nations Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean.

CANARI is a regional, technical, non-profit organisation that has been working in the region for 30 years. Their mission is to promote and facilitate stakeholder participation in the stewardship of natural resources in the Caribbean, focusing on biodiversity and ecosystems, equity and justice, resilience, and participatory governance.