This assessment, Global Environment Outlook 6: Regional assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean, identifies the main environmental changes that have been observed in the region since GEO-5 (2012) and GEO LAC 3 (2010); and considers priorities for action within the overall framework of the new 2030 sustainability agenda. At the beginning of the GEO-6 process, governments of LAC and other key stakeholder groups (at the GEO REIN Conference held in Panama City in May 2015) identified a number of regional priorities that helped to shape the focus for assessing suitable response options for the region. These priorities included: impacts from climate change and natural hazards; biodiversity and ecosystem services; natural resources and tourism; economic development and sustainable consumption and production; health and environment; land use, land degradation and land planning; environmental governance; environmental information; and communication and public awareness.
The regional assessment is structured in 4 main chapters:
- Chapter 1 reviews the regional priorities established at the REIN conference and explains why each priority is of importance to the region;
- Chapter 2 describes the state of the environment in the region around five key themes (air, water, oceans, land, biodiversity), analysing key environmental issues;
- Chapter 3 assesses the policy responses to the mentioned environmental issues in the region;
- Chapter 4 reviews future trends that can affect the regions environment in the future and analyses the actions needed for the region to achieve a more sustainable future.