International Development Practitioners proposed actionable recommendations to local leaders from the region during the First Cities Summit of the Americas Roundtable on “Strengthening the Climate Change Agenda for Afro-descendant Populations
Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have had a devastating impact on the Afro- descendant populations of Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with twenty of the countries in the world with the highest number of infected people. Afro- descendants constitute a significant population in Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Barbados, just to mention a few countries. These countries lack the minimum social, environmental and economic infrastructure. Especially in access to the production and distribution of clean energy, water and sanitation, transport and sustainable communication. The countries also do not have a regional programmatic agenda, nor the financial resources to overcome these challenges.
The Summit with its approximately 2, 500 attendees, 65 sessions and 40 supporting events, included the Roundtable. Under the leadership of SUDECC, Global Black, the Central American Black Organization, participants reviewed best practices implementing sustainable, resilient, and equitable Programs in the Americas. It also included an art exhibition and artistic presentations powered by https://www.biennialoftheamericas.org/fabricadearteamericas
Afro-descendants and Climate Change at the First Cities Summit of the Americas
More than 133 million Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which constitute a third of the population of the Americas, face a range of serious and diverse challenges – from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in food and fuel as a consequence of the domino effect of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. These factors are further increasing the gaps in social and economic inequality in the region, which generally translate into citizen insecurity and regional instability.
Impact of climate change, Covid-19, and access to infrastructure. A Summit with the leading participation of Afro-descendants offered to relevant stakeholders the opportunity to create inclusive and equitable processes. Leaders from across the region proposed actionable recommendations on how to generate programmatic actions to improve lives and build confidence to promote true reconstruction, recovery and economic relief in the region. Particularly, facing the challenges of adaptation to extreme weather, access to clean energy, assistance to develop communal land and housing projects, digital, financial education and technical and credit assistance. All these aspects must include the perspective and differentiated approach from and for Afro-descendant populations
