Foreword
The OECD Environmental Performance Review Programme has been supporting member and partner countries in developing effective environmental policies for nearly 30 years. The principal aim of the programme is to:
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support countries evaluate progress in achieving their environmental goals;
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promote continuous policy dialogue and peer learning; and
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stimulate greater accountability from governments towards each other and public opinion.
The thematic reports developed under the Environmental Performance Review Programme contribute to these objectives by summarising experience and lessons learned from country specific Environmental Performance Reviews.
This report provides a cross-country overview of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use policies in five Latin American countries. It draws on the OECD’s Environmental Performance Reviews completed for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru between 2013 and 2017. It presents the main challenges facing these Latin American countries, the strategies being used to tackle them and the gaps that remain. The report takes into account major policy changes since these countries’ Environmental Performance Reviews depending on information availability, and presents updated data and indicators across selected Latin American countries. However, as the countries were reviewed over several years, information for some countries may be more recent than others. Nevertheless, the policy recommendations emerging from the reviews may provide useful lessons for other OECD and partner countries.
The authors of the report are Anna Drutschinin and Britta Labuhn from the OECD Environment Directorate and Rachel Samson of Carist Consulting. Ivana Capozza of the OECD Environment Directorate co-ordinated its preparation. Nathalie Girouard, Head of the Environmental Performance and Information Division of the OECD Environment Directorate provided oversight and guidance. Preparation of the report benefited from the contribution of Environment Directorate colleagues including Jane Ellis and Katia Karousakis, as well as from consultation with the OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance and the Working Party on Biodiversity, Water and Ecosystems. Carla Bertuzzi provided statistical support and Mika Hosokawa, Annette Hardcastle and Natasha Cline-Thomas prepared the report for publication.
The figures presented in this report are based on data available up to October 2018.