As the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC) wrapped up its 26th annual Congress in St. Lucia on October 9, Chile was announced as the host of the 27th Congress.
During the handover ceremony, it was revealed that the Chile Nature Fund will be the host organisation for the 27th Congress and representatives from the Fund played a video highlighting the country’s vast biodiversity and culture.
As the Congress moved from the home of the Pitons to the land of the Andes, Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), Karen McDonald Gayle, reflected on the historic 26th Congress which marked the first time RedLAC hosted the event in the Eastern Caribbean.
In an interview after the closing, Gayle said, “Bringing many of the (Latin American) RedLAC delegates to the Caribbean, and especially a small island, was a new experience for many.
“So, it’s been exciting to have everybody in St. Lucia for the last few days. It’s also been very interesting to hear what they’ve learned and seen.”
Held from October 7 – 10 at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa and Beach Resort, this year’s Congress attracted over 200 attendees that represented 34 RedLAC Conservation Trust Funds and 25 countries.
Themed 30x30x30: The Path to 2030, discussions and events at the Congress focused on building regional networks to contribute to the global biodiversity goal of protecting 30 percent of the earth’s biodiversity by 2030.
Keynote speakers included renowned coastal ecologist, Prof. Dale Webber, and former St. Lucian Environment Minister, Dr. James Fletcher while topics centered around connecting conservation work to communities and ensuring strategic funding methods are considered to maximise conservation goals.
During the event, the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association (SLHTA) and Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund (SLUNCF) also launched their joint Saint Lucia Marine Health Alliance (MHA) while the CBF launched its fifth calls for proposals under its ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) facility.
Gayle added, “It’s been a very brilliant [few days] of discussions on what’s possible and how we can work closer together as Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s been delightful to hear not only what we need to do together in terms of some of the challenges in reaching 30×30, but how we can do it with practical solutions.”
As focus now turns to the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 – November 1, Gayle said the conservation funds attending the Congress will use COP16 as a platform to gain support for the ideas discussed in St. Lucia as it relates to supporting the 30×30 goal and making it a reality.
She explained conservation funds will undertake renewed efforts to expand their cross-sector engagement with policy-makers and governments to have their positions and role strategically represented in policy documents.
Recalling her opening speech at the Congress as she further reflected, “As I said in my opening remarks, REDLAC has been a university for me as it’s a learning experience like no other. It’s important to recognise the information that’s in this space and the willingness of RedLAC members to share that information. It has been invaluable and new ideas have come.”
Dr. James Fletcher: closing keynote a “call to action”
In an interview after he delivered the keynote address on the Congress’ closing day, Dr. James Fletcher said he purposefully highlighted the relationship between the 30×30 conservation goal and the “1.5 to stay alive” climate goal.
A former St. Lucian Minister for Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Fletcher explained people working in the conservation space have to incorporate climate action in their efforts as global temperature increases beyond 1.5 degrees will contribute to substantial biodiversity loss.
He added, “We speak of the twin crises that we’re experiencing which are biodiversity loss and climate change. So we have to get them [people] to understand what these crises are, and is it a crisis just because the international climate says it’s a crisis, or is it a crisis for us? And if it’s a crisis for us, how is it a crisis for us? And why does this 30x30x30 goal help us deal with that crisis?”
Fletcher highlighted the importance of RedLAC members funding projects with comprehensive environmental education campaigns to ensure people understand the urgency of the issues and not be distrustful of decision-makers.
Ultimately, Fletcher said success on the 1.5 climate goal or 30x30x30 target will be dependent on getting as many people as possible “singing the same song from the same hymn sheet.”
Giving RedLAC members advice on how to develop a robust call to action for the 30x30x30 goal, he said it’s important to meet people where they are.
“So, you want to get your artists. You want to get your spoken word people, as we had with the 1.5 to Stay Alive campaign. Your Soca artists, your reggae artists. You want to get your poets writing about it. You want to get your journalists writing about it. But they [society] have to understand that we’re facing an existential crisis in climate change that will affect everybody and generations to come.”
As the 26th RedLAC Congress came to a close on October 9, Fletcher called on RedLAC members to use the platforms of COP16, and the upcoming 2024 United Nations Climate Conference (COP29), to continue conversations on the need for international solidarity and cooperation.
Particularly, Fletcher wants Global North countries to understand that Latin America and the Caribbean is not an “academic exercise where they come, talk about it and write a few papers.”
“It’s important that we treat these issues as something that is real and impacting every single country in our region but particularly Caribbean countries because of their nature, their geography. We can’t do this alone. So, we need support in order to address these big problems that we’re dealing with, particularly the climate change problem, which is caused by external factors.”
Fletcher lamented climate and conservation action is not something that can be delayed and called for spaces like the RedLAC Congress and UN Conferences to ensure transformative change happens on the ground.
