Regional assessment on ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and biodiversity in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

This regional assessment document discusses ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) and its linkages with biodiversity in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. It highlights key opportunities to catalyse actions for Eco-DRR that embrace the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems.

This document describes the most significant natural hazards and impacts, the biodiversity of ecosystems and species, an explanation of the regional and national policies about risk management, and the experiences in the region on Eco-DRR. It contains regional overviews of twelve focal countries: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago.

Although Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are faced with great challenges and in some cases adversity, they also possess important opportunities, not just to grow socially and economically in a holistic manner, but also environmentally.

The ability to include new methodologies and concepts into policies and strategies of the region, as well as the presence of existing environmental legislation, formulate opportunities to further integrate biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation in Eco-DRR.