The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 11

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.4

Drinking water and electricity are basic services that proved essential to counter the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, they represented an opportunity for investment to spur economic recovery in the countries of the region. Since the early months of 2022, they have been particularly threatened by the impact of the war in Ukraine on the world prices of fossil fuels, which are basic inputs for both sectors. Together with higher prices for edible oils, cereals and fertilizers, this has led to a rise in poverty and in energy, water and food insecurity in the region. In Latin Ameri…

Nature-based solutions and the bioeconomy: Contributing to a sustainable and inclusive transformation of agriculture and to the post-COVID-19 recovery

Nature-based solutions (NBS) stand at the forefront of efforts to address the multiple dimensions of global environmental change. This document reviews the synergies among multiple objectives that these solutions can offer to achieve greater sustainability in agriculture and to strengthen the bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a view to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes a set of NBS that have the potential to generate synergies between the environmental objectives of the Rio conventions and that propose a road map for transformational change in the agricultural…

Limiting Temperature Rise - What Does It Mean for Caribbean SIDS?

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.3

In 2021, Latin America and the Caribbean saw an increase in the prices of the main export commodities, mainly as a result of the recovery in global demand following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issue No. 3 of the ECLAC Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean Bulletin, prepared by the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, offers an analysis of the movements in prices of non-renewable natural resources and agricultural products in Latin America and the Caribbean, considering the effects of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable economic recovery in the region. …

End of assignment report Alicia Bárcena 2008–2022

This document contains a report on the term in office of Alicia Bárcena as Executive Secretary of ECLAC (2008–2022), by area of work of the Commission.…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 2

Conceptualizing a circular economy in the Caribbean: perspectives and possibilities. Policy Brief

Although the notion of a circular economy (CE) has been conceived and debated for more than half a century (Henrysson and Nuur, 2021), it has gained considerable popularity in the lexicon of economists, ecologists and other development thinkers over the past two decades. The increasing evidence of the existential threat of human-induced climate change and the related imperatives of decarbonizing the global economy, have led to greater focus on strategies for a more sustainable use of the natural and environmental resource base.…

Report on the activities of the Commission 2020

For more than 73 years, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has been fully committed to the sustainable development of the countries of the region. This report on the activities of the Commission highlights its key achievements and contributions in 2020 and is hereby submitted for the consideration of member States in light of the accountability and transparency framework promoted by the United Nations.…

Draft programme of work of the ECLAC system, 2023

The draft programme of work of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for 2023 is hereby submitted to the member States of the Commission for their consideration. It highlights the priorities for 2023 that will be considered by the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the United Nations General Assembly as part of the intergovernmental reviewing exercise. The overall purpose of the programme is to promote the economic, social and environmentally sustainable development of Latin America and the Caribbean through international cooperation, by undertakin…

Transforming food systems: Regional policy brief

The ‎UN World Food Systems Summit (FSS) 2021 marks a ‎‎‎‎milestone to promote actions that aim at overcoming challenges and delivering healthier, more ‎‎‎‎sustainable, and inclusive food systems and to deliver progress globally across all the Sustainable Development ‎‎‎Goals (SDGs). In that respect this report was prepared to provide harmonized pathways and game changers to overcome common and regional challenges that limit the transformation of the food system into an inclusive, healthy, sustainable, and resilient systems. The proposed game changers when implemented by a variety of actors in …

The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2021-2022

This biennial report is the result of the joint efforts of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The health, economic and social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic also offers opportunities for rebuilding and transformation that will strengthen resilience and reduce or prevent future crises. The pandemic has demonstrated that the principle of “rebuilding better” should be the basis of efforts to emerge from the crisis, w…

Strategies for Post COVID-19 Recovery in the Caribbean

Environmental Big Push in the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 6

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 18: Digitalising agriculture for an inclusive transformation of rural societies

The digitalisation of agrifood systems has made progress; still, it remains a pending topic in the region, especially among smaller producers and traders in rural areas. Accelerating the digitalisation process is not an easy task. To begin with, there is an urgent need to improve the environment in which these technologies are developed and implemented. This requires a state policy that fosters dialogue and collaboration between civil organisations and the public and private sectors, with the ultimate aim of ensuring that the benefits of digitalisation reach everyone, in particular smaller pro…

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 5

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 2

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.2

Issue No. 2 of the ECLAC Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean Bulletin Analyses the relationship between gender and the region’ s key natural resources: biodiversity, water, energy, food and mining. It identifies the main economic, social and environmental impacts of the gender gap and the opportunities that exist for incorporating a gender perspective into public policies for those resources.…

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 17. Recovery with transformation: a mid-term overview

This issue provides a preliminary overview of the effects of this crisis on the regional agrifood system and lists some initiatives and ideas on what to do to recover and transform the regional agrifood systems, with the aim of improving the social and economic conditions of the people living in the region, in complete harmony with nature.…