Acción Andina

Ecosystem Health

Initiatives in this pillar support the protection and restoration of freshwater, land, and ocean realms, crucial for meeting the '30x30' targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This ambitious goal seeks to effectively protect and manage 30% of the world’s terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. Achieving this is vital as currently, only about 17% of land and 8% of marine areas are under some form of protection. These efforts are essential to address the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, ensuring the survival of natural systems that protect human well-being and support all life on Earth.

Bio Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

The process of capturing and storing CO₂ emissions from existing processes such as biomass heat and power generation, paper and pulp processing, or biomass fermentation processes such as ethanol and biogas production.

Woody biomass burial

The process of storing woody biomass, for example tree branches, in a dry or oxygen-free environment to stop its decomposition, allows to store the carbon for up to 100 years.

Avoided deforestation

This climate change mitigation approach involves preserving existing forests to prevent the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) that would occur if these forests were cut down or degraded. This approach focuses on maintaining forest cover, often through conservation, as forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, and their destruction leads to significant CO2 emissions.

Community forest management (CFM) and tenure security

Community Forest Management (CFM) is a conservation and sustainable use approach where local communities play a central role in managing and protecting forest resources. Tenure security in this context refers to the legal and customary rights of these communities to own, access, and control their forest lands. Secure tenure is crucial for CFM's success, as it empowers communities, ensures long-term stewardship of the forests, and provides them with incentives to manage resources sustainably.

Advocacy

Climate advocacy refers to actions and efforts aimed at raising awareness, influencing public opinion, and driving policy changes related to climate change. Such initiatives can be highly impactful, bringing about systemic technological, market, and human behavior changes necessary to address climate change, as well as speed up decarbonization and avoid carbon lock-in in emerging economies. The need for policy advocacy and mobilizing financing for policy change is also voiced by international organizations, national governments, and other actors.

Emission reduction

Emission reduction refers to the process of decreasing the release of CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere. This can be done through supporting innovation in new fossil-free energy solutions in cases where market forces are not providing the necessary funds, increasing energy efficiency, and developing new technologies.