26 January 2023 – The Government of Panama has officially launched its participation in a project to protect Latin American cities from the impacts of climate change through the restoration and conservation of nature.
The regional project, known as Nature4Cities, is helping 13 Latin American cities across 7 different countries to draw on the natural defences that urban ecosystems such as forests and rivers provide against floods, droughts, storms and other climate-related impacts. Experts say these ‘nature-based solutions’ are increasingly recognized as a holistic approach for adapting to climate change in a way that supports both people and biodiversity.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for executing the project, with funding of over $2 million from the Green Climate Fund, a major international backer of climate change projects. Almost $300,000 of co-finance was also provide by the European Union’s Euroclima+ programme.
To mark the official expansion of the project to Panama, an event was held in Panama City on the 26 January, attended by government ministries, representatives from the United Nations, civil society organizations and local authorities. In a keynote speech, the Minister of the Environment Milciades Concepción said:
“The Nature4Cities project aims to help the country explore its potential to develop mitigation and adaptation plans at the city level, based on nature, financing strategies and implementation capacity, contributing to creating cities that are more resilient to climate change.”
The 13 cities supported by the project are Camagüey and Manzanillo (Cuba), Santiago de los Caballeros (the Dominican Republic), Santo Domingo (Ecuador), Guatemala City (Guatemala), La Lima and El Progreso (Honduras), Bocas del Toro, Colón, Arraijan, and the municipal area of Boquete-Dolega-Gualaca (Panama), and Rivera and Durazno (Uruguay).
Juan Bello, UNEP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, warned: “Climate impacts in the region are becoming more frequent and intense. During the 2020-2022 period, a total of 175 disasters were recorded in the region, of which 88% had a meteorological, climatological and hydrological origin. These events accounted for 40% of disaster-related deaths and 71% of economic losses, making the region one of the most vulnerable in the world.”
These effects of climate change are exacerbated by urbanization and rampant deforestation, which lead to greater loss and damages in cities during storms, as there is less vegetation available to absorb rainwater and floodwater. Latin America and the Caribbean is currently the second most urbanized region in the world.
The Nature4Cities project is expected to alleviate these challenges by improving the understanding of climate risks and decision-making processes for adaptation, strengthening policies and institutional frameworks to accelerate the use of nature-based solutions, and defining climate financing strategies through innovative public, private and ‘blended’ financial mechanisms.
“Although Latin America and the Caribbean only emits 8% of global emissions, according to the Global Commission for Adaptation, 9 of the 20 countries most impacted by climate change are located in this region,” said Kurt Leiseder, Cooperation Official of the European Union Delegation in Panama.
In his speech, Leiseder pointed to some of the achievements of an earlier initiative known as CityAdapt, a similar project in the region promoting nature-based solutions to tackle climate change in cities, from which many lessons learned will be carried over into the Nature4Cities initiative. To date, the CityAdapt project has brought benefits to approximately 193,000 people in the region.
“It is with great satisfaction that we see the fruits of our collaboration through projects such as the current CityAdapt platform – a space for information and knowledge that has tools to support many cities in Latin America to adapt to climate change in a strategic manner.”
To learn more about the project, fully titled ‘Increasing the Resilience through Nature-based Solutions in Latin American cities (Nature4Cities)’, contact Marta.Moneo@un.org.
For more information about UNEP’s work in climate adaptation, visit us here.
