Although Latin America accounts for only about eight per cent of the world’s population, it is home to a quarter of the world’s forests and its biodiversity is one-of-a-kind, from the ecosystems of the Andes Mountains and the Galapagos Islands to the Amazon basin and Patagonia. Unfortunately this unique environment is constantly under threat from human activities, since the region’s economic activity is heavily centred around the extraction and export of natural resources. The region is also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, experiencing more and more tropical storms, flooding and droughts, together with rising sea levels and changes in agricultural productivity.
The challenge currently facing Latin America environmentalists – from new tech start-ups to NGOs and established institutions – is how to reshape and redirect the region’s economic activity and individual habits towards a more sustainable future.
