The Forth Conference of Parties (COP4) of the Escazú Agreement, taking place this week in The Bahamas, offers a timely opportunity to recall why this agreement represents a critical milestone: placing human rights and environmental protection at the heart of human development.

Environmental degradation and social vulnerability are deeply connected, exposing those who defend land, water, biodiversity, and Indigenous rights to heightened risks. Nowhere is this more evident than in Latin America and the Caribbean – a region of paradox. It is a global centre of natural wealth and home to 10 of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots, and at the same time faces the fastest rates of biodiversity loss worldwide. It is the most democratic developing region, but persistent inequality, rising social fragmentation, erosion of human rights, and stalled human development make the region one of the most dangerous in the world for environmental human rights defenders. Nearly 80 per cent of the more than 2,100  killed or disappeared globally between 2012 and 2023 were from the region. Among these contrasts, the Escazú Agreement- entered into force in 2021- offers as a pathway for a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

As a pioneering environmental and human rights treaty, the Escazú Agreement – the first to include explicit obligations to protect environmental human rights defenders-, guarantees access to information, meaningful public participation in decision‑making, and access to justice in environmental matters. At its core, environmental justice is about protecting people and planet—their rights, their voices, and their ability to shape decisions that affect their lives, and ultimately the environment on which they depend. The Escazú Agreement responds directly to this imperative, recognizing that safeguarding the environment and protecting human rights are intimately related to human development.

Beyond its legal innovation, Escazú speaks to a broader democratic principle: decisions about the environment—about land, water, and territory—cannot be made solely by governments or markets; they require informed and meaningful citizen participation. In this sense, Escazú gives practical expression to the idea of environmental democracy: the extension of democratic norms, safeguards to the governance of natural resources, and the collective management of the common good. 

The 2025 Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean proposes a forward-looking concept of resilient human development—an approach focused on strengthening people’s capacity to withstand shocks while recognizing their deep interdependence with nature. Healthy ecosystems reinforce resilience; resilient societies, in turn, are better equipped to protect and restore them. This virtuous cycle lies at the heart of Escazú’s vision. 

The governance of natural resources does not only shape growth trajectories; it also shapes the quality of democracy itself, by testing the State’s ability to balance private interests, collective rights, and sustainability. Strong democracies are those that transform these tensions into spaces for public deliberation and legitimate political choice—not into sources of polarization or conflict, but into stability that enables sustainable growth and investment.

Through initiatives such as the Global Programme on Rule of Law and Human Rights, Nature Pledge and the Climate Promise, UNDP supports countries in aligning environmental policy, economic systems, and social outcomes, grounded in resilient and sustainable development strategies and democratic governance mechanisms. This includes supporting resilient institutions that can anticipate, prevent, and manage multiple, interconnected crises, while fostering participatory processes that ensure the meaningful inclusion of young people and other under‑represented voices in decision‑making, including indigenous people and local communities. This systemic approach supports governments and societies across Latin America and the Caribbean in translating the commitments of the Escazú Agreement—and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment—into practice, linking environmental protection with democratic governance, social inclusion, and long‑term resilience.

 In Peru and Bolivia UNDP assisted in transboundary governance processes to help ensure fair, informed, and rights‑based outcomes in complex environmental and development decisions in the Lake Titicaca–Desaguadero–Poopó–Coipasa basin. In Colombia, efforts on creating agrarian jurisdictions and consolidating environmental prosecution mechanisms, contributing to more effective, timely, and people-centered Environmental Justice. In Ecuador and Belize, expanding access to environmental information is helping to improve evidence‑based planning and strengthening accountability in the context of climate risks. These efforts demonstrate that implementing Escazú is not only about legal frameworks—it is about transforming how decisions are made, whose voices are heard, and how rights are protected in practice.

Far from constraining development and economic growth, the Escazú Agreement strengthens it as a governance tool that enhances certainty, trust, and social legitimacy. By promoting transparent rules, predictable and participatory decision-making, and effective access to justice, it helps prevent conflict, reduce political and reputational risks, and create a more stable environment for sustainable, long-term investment aligned with national development priorities.

UNDP remains committed to working alongside governments, businesses, communities, civil society, and human rights defenders to ensure that the promise of Escazú translates into tangible improvements in people’s lives. In doing so, we advance a model of development that is not only sustainable, but also resilient, inclusive, and just—one that recognizes that protecting those who defend the environment is essential to securing our collective future.

Follow UNDP’s activities and side events at the Escazu COP