At the meeting, the mayors of Curridabat and Nicoya, Costa Rica; Bocas del Toro, Panama; San Nicolás, Honduras; La Palma, El Salvador; Rio San Juan and Nagua, Dominican Republic, signed the agreement of Adhesion to the Barranquilla Declaration, through which these signatory cities reaffirm their commitment to an urban management model in harmony with nature and formalize their incorporation into the BiodiverCities Network of Latin America and the Caribbean.
PUNTA CANA. The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) held the third BiodiverCities meeting of the Caribbean and Central America in the Dominican Republic, organized in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, which seeks to create an urban development model that is in harmony with nature.
At the meeting, the mayors of Curridabat and Nicoya, Costa Rica; Bocas del Toro, Panama; San Nicolás, Honduras; La Palma, El Salvador; Rio San Juan and Nagua, Dominican Republic, signed the agreement of Adhesion to the Barranquilla Declaration, through which these signatory cities reaffirm their commitment to an urban management model in harmony with nature and formalize their incorporation into the BiodiverCities Network of Latin America and the Caribbean.
A BiodiverCity is a city that effectively and comprehensively incorporates local and regional biodiversity into its planning, as an essential axis and instrument of its socioeconomic development.
The Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, expressed that the BiodiverCities concept is an interesting initiative that places biodiversity as the main focus, adopting all the efforts and territorial planning and organization of the countries.
“The Dominican Republic’s goal is to continue making strong strides towards territorial planning for our tourist destinations and to diversify the tourism offer by taking advantage of the different attractions we have in order to reduce the impact on the environment,” said Raquel Peña.
The Vice President of the Republic recognized the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean for promoting this network of biodiversity cities and for organizing events where successful experiences can be exchanged and the challenges that each of the countries faces can be shared. She also recognized the Ministry of Tourism, which has been a great ally in the development of the meeting.
The Deputy Minister of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), Carlos Peguero, representing Minister David Collado, stated that the vision of a new tourism policy from an environmental perspective is based on maintaining a dynamic balance that allows the satisfaction of the needs imposed by the tourism development process while simultaneously guaranteeing the environment and promoting the sustainable use of resources.
He indicated that these policies are based on making optimal use of environmental resources, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural resources and biological diversity, as well as respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and ensuring viable long-term economic activities, such as stable employment opportunities and income that contribute to poverty reduction in the area.
Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF's executive president, announced that CAF's sustainable tourism unit will be relocated to the Dominican Republic to oversee all sustainable tourism issues in Latin America from Quisqueya. He also stated that they are interested in working on future projects of interest to the country, in collaboration with the Dominican government and the private sector.
“We face significant challenges in our region, including creating jobs for young people and women, achieving greater equity, and combating poverty and marginalization, which can only be addressed at the local level. That is why, at CAF, we believe in and trust the transformative power of local governments; mayors bear a great responsibility,” Díaz stated.
During the conclave that took place on June 13 and 14 in Punta Cana, Ángel Cárdenas, manager of urban development and creative economies at CAF, introduced the event, which included presentations by Hernando García Martínez, general director of the Humboldt Institute of Colombia, with the dissertation “BiodiverCities at the service of sustainable tourism” and Shaney Peña, director of Planning and Projects (DPP) of MITUR, with the topic “Rethinking tourism territorial planning in the Dominican Republic”.
Also, the dialogues “Land planning in coastal areas”, “Restoration and preservation of natural assets for sustainable tourism” and “Biodiversity as a factor of tourism competitiveness” were held.
About the forum
The World Economic Forum recently launched a collaborative process with the Government of Colombia on a new global initiative that will support city governments, businesses, and citizens around the world to create an urban development model that is in harmony with nature, which it has called BiodiverCities for 2030.
The BiodiverCity concept arises from the need to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services and incorporate them into land planning and management, promoting the bioeconomy, science, technology, innovation and the circular economy in order to achieve greater well-being for citizens and compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On December 1, 2021, CAF and the Mayor's Office of Barranquilla (Colombia) hosted the Latin American BiodiverCities Forum, which brought together mayors from the region and leaders from different fields, with the aim of presenting their experiences and discussing the strategy to promote BiodiverCities in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as their future networking.
CAF has promoted the development of BiodiverCities Encounters—at the national and regional levels—which serve as a forum for the exchange of experiences, best practices, and challenges among cities throughout the region. The series began in Argentina, with the participation of more than 30 local authorities, and continued in Ecuador, bringing together 22 mayors from that country.
