Afro-InterAmerican Forum on Climate Change

OUR CHALLENGE

For Afro-descendant coastal communities across the Americas and the Caribbean, the climate crisis looms large. Over the past decade, an uptick in extreme weather events has damaged their homes, crippled food and water supplies, and disrupted livelihoods from Colombia to the Carolinas. Increasing fluctuations in temperature and rainfall could have permanent and disproportionate consequences on vulnerable communities — exacerbating the socioeconomic conditions they face.

Because they live in environmentally important ecosystems — like carbon-rich coastal areas, mangroves and tropical forests — Afro-descendant communities are in a unique position to lead solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises, and help address the interconnected issues of environmental justice, racial inequities and socioeconomic exclusion. However, these communities' voices remain absent from many regional, national and global negotiations about the environment, climate change and nature conservation.

FORUM OVERVIEW

Co-developed by Afro-descendant leaders from the Americas, the Afro-InterAmerican Forum on Climate Change provides greater visibility to the environmental challenges Afro-descendant communities face — including climate risks and biodiversity loss — and their contributions to the stewardship of ecosystems that provide critical environmental benefits. The Forum will provide on-the-ground resources for Afro-descendant communities to engage in research and community innovation projects. Through this work, the Forum will help develop a common narrative and a call to action for Afro-descendant communities to help address climate change. The co-creation of knowledge and financial support for Afro-descendant populations on climate change issues will also help advance environmental and racial justice.

Formally announced at the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, the Forum will include Afro-descendant leaders from across the Americas. The first meeting was convened by Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia, former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia and a Martin Luther King Visiting Scholar at MIT; Epsy Campbell, Vice President of Costa Rica; Kelvin Alie, Senior Vice President at Conservation International; and U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks. MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative and Conservation International will provide technical guidance to support the Forum.

IMPLEMENTATION

The Afro-InterAmerican Forum on Climate Change works in three areas:

• Advocacy and awareness building: Convene Afro-descendant leaders at international forums, such as the U.N. climate change and biodiversity summits, and make visible the unique climate and environmental challenges their communities face in the Americas.
• Community innovation and engagement: Together with local communities, co-design strategies that put Afro-descendant experiences at the center and contribute solutions to climate change issues facing their communities. Provide equitable access to resources and funding, opening opportunities to enact change and influence natural resource management.
• Research and data collection: Collect data, map best local practices, visualize and document lessons learned related to natural climate solutions in the Afro-descendant communities using technology piloted by MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative, in partnership with Conservation International and local organizations, including SUDECC, Nuestra América Verde, ONECA, Afro Global Consulting, Universidad Autónoma de Chiriqui, Fundación Panamá Sostenible, Latinas en Poder and Codechocó and Coalizão Negra por Direitos.

CONTACT

To learn more or get involved with the initiative, please contact Kelvin Alie, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Delivery and Field Partnership at Conservation International (kalie@conservation.org) or Marcela Angel, Research Program Director at MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative (marcelaa@mit.edu).

Resources