Enfoque ecosistémico y políticas públicas: aportes para la conservación de la biodiversidad y la adaptación al cambio climático en Latinoamérica

This report by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research examines the application of the Ecosystem Approach (EA) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation in Latin America, with a focus on the tropical Andes. It argues that current public policies are often sector-based and fragmented, and proposes that integrating the EA into territorial planning—specifically at the municipal level—can build systemic resilience and reduce vulnerability for both ecosystems and human populations.

• Public policies for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Latin America have historically been implemented in a sector-based and fragmented manner, often disconnected from other public policies and private sector interests. This lack of integration has led to conflicts and difficulties in meeting the conservation goals set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other multilateral agreements.
• Climate change is projected to cause significant species loss in Latin America, particularly in cloud forests, tropical dry forests, and continental and coastal-marine wetlands (reefs and mangroves). In the northern tropical Andes, average annual temperatures are forecast to increase by 0.73C per decade, potentially reaching a maximum of 5.8C by 2080 in some areas, which could lead to the extinction or high threat of more than one-third of 202 modeled Andean species by 2080.
• By 2050, it is estimated that 50% of agricultural lands in Latin America will have suffered from desertification and salinization processes due to land-use changes and global warming. This threatens food security and biological diversity, necessitating risk management strategies such as economic diversification, sustainable management practices, and the introduction of better-adapted genotypes.
• The Ecosystem Approach (EA), adopted by the CBD in 2000, is based on 12 principles that promote the management of biophysical resources within their ecological, social, and economic contexts. While it has been used in specific projects (such as biological corridors in Ecuador and Colombia), it has not been widely institutionalized as a reference framework for national public policies in tropical Andean countries.
• Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is a strategy to build resilience and reduce the risk of ecosystem degradation and its negative effects on local communities. It posits that well-managed ecosystems increase resilience and decrease environmental and social vulnerability through activities such as integrated water management, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable forest management.
• Territorial Planning (Ordenamiento Territorial) serves as a critical platform for integrating public policies and building climate-resilient spaces. An example is the Adaptive Territorial Ecological Structure (EETA) used in Colombia's Integrated National Adaptation Project (INAP) in the Chingaza Massif, which uses a network of geographic spaces to maintain ecosystem functions and services, such as water supply for Bogot which depends 80% on these ecosystems.
• The most viable path for implementing the Ecosystem Approach is a 'bottom-up' strategy starting at the municipal level. This allows for better local participation, consensus-building, and the integration of productive sectors with biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation.
• There is a significant gap in the institutionalization of the Ecosystem Approach due to a lack of government awareness that the approach is binding for CBD signatories, a lack of detailed documents for decision-makers, and a shortage of practical guides for effective implementation.

APA

Andrade, A., & Vides, R. (n.d.). Enfoque ecosistémico y políticas públicas: aportes para la conservación de la biodiversidad y la adaptación al cambio climático en Latinoamérica. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/DE4.pdf

Chicago

Andrade, Angela, and Roberto Vides. Enfoque ecosistémico y políticas públicas: aportes para la conservación de la biodiversidad y la adaptación al cambio climático en Latinoamérica. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/DE4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Andrade |first1=Angela |last2=Vides |first2=Roberto |title=Enfoque ecosistémico y políticas públicas: aportes para la conservación de la biodiversidad y la adaptación al cambio climático en Latinoamérica |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/DE4.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{andradendenfoque, author = {Andrade, Angela and Vides, Roberto}, title = {{Enfoque ecosistémico y políticas públicas: aportes para la conservación de la biodiversidad y la adaptación al cambio climático en Latinoamérica}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/DE4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }