Climate Change Impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean

The document examines the multifaceted effects of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting vulnerabilities in artisanal fisheries, rural women's livelihoods, education, and public health. It argues that traditional top-down scientific and governance models are insufficient, proposing instead 'co-production' of knowledge and participatory water and land management to build regional resilience.

• Rural and Indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean experience the effects of nature's destruction at a disproportionate rate, often remaining disconnected from the international forums where climate solutions are discussed.
• Ocean warming in the South-West Atlantic, particularly affecting the continental shelf of southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina, has caused mass mortality in cold-water species and increased the frequency of red tides, leading to the collapse of artisanal fisheries like the yellow clam in Uruguay.
• Rural women in the region face heightened vulnerability to climate change due to structural gender inequalities that limit their access to land, credit, and technical assistance; for example, only about 30% of rural women in Latin America own agricultural land.
• Climate-related disasters severely disrupt education in the Caribbean and Central America; in 2016, Hurricane Matthew damaged 300 schools in Haiti, and in 2021, Hurricanes Eta and Iota affected 340 schools in Guatemala and 76 in Nicaragua.
• Climate change is a significant driver of migration in the Americas, with projections suggesting 17 million people may migrate within Latin America by 2050 due to climate factors.
• Wildfires in the Amazon create a 'vicious circle' where climate change makes forests more vulnerable to fire, and these fires increase CO2 emissions, further worsening regional weather and global climate change.
• In the Paraná Basin, the operation of hydroelectric reservoirs to ensure energy security often conflicts with the needs of aquatic biodiversity and artisanal fishers, though optimized flow patterns could potentially reconcile these demands.
• The emergence of new zoonotic infectious diseases is being accelerated by anthropogenic changes, including deforestation and rising temperatures, which increase 'first encounters' between mammal species and facilitate viral transmission to humans.
• There is a critical need to transition from centralized, technocratic water management to participatory, decentralized models—such as basin committees—to better handle the uncertainties of climate-induced water crises.
• Traditional scientific models often ignore local and Indigenous knowledge, leading to 'dehumanised policies' and public distrust; the document advocates for 'transdisciplinary science' that co-produces knowledge with affected communities.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). Climate Change Impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/EN-Climate%20change%20impacts%20in%20Latin%20America%20and%20the%20Caribbean.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Climate Change Impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean. n.d. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/EN-Climate%20change%20impacts%20in%20Latin%20America%20and%20the%20Caribbean.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Climate Change Impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean |url=https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/EN-Climate%20change%20impacts%20in%20Latin%20America%20and%20the%20Caribbean.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchndclimate, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Climate Change Impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/EN-Climate%20change%20impacts%20in%20Latin%20America%20and%20the%20Caribbean.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }