Nature-Based Solutions: Sustainable Development of Latin America

Abstract

Latin America is a region with abundant natural resources and diverse cultures, much of which lies between the tropics. Sustainable agriculture, pasture, and forestry practices can have a reduced environmental impact in this region compared to other parts of the world. These integrated systems practices can create a balanced use of chemical inputs, harmonious relations between humans and soil-plants-livestock, and even provide a nature-based solution to climate change by sequestering carbon emissions and are also less likely to lead to soil degradation. These practices are central to a new economic paradigm focused on a sustainable and circular bioeconomy and depend on public policies, incentives, financial mechanisms, and commitments from the business. Carbon farming sustainable agriculture focused on increasing soil health and reducing emissions can gain scale with market-driven mechanisms to surpass the various challenges. This paper presents condensed information from primary and secondary sources, representing established knowledge in the field of soil carbon sequestration in agricultural lands and its role in carbon neutrality. By implementing these strategies, we can support farmers while contributing to the objectives set by the Paris Agreement and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Received: 23 March 2023 | Revised: 25 August 2023 | Accepted: 20 January 2024

Conflicts of Interest

 The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.

Data Availability Statement

Data is available on request from the authors.

Author Contribution Statement

Danielle Mendes Thame Denny: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing - original draft. Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri: Resources, Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition. Maurício Roberto Cherubin: Validation, Data curation, Visualization, Project administration. Heloisa Lee Burnquist: Methodology, Formal analysis.