I’m not a big fan of COPs or summits. Perhaps it isn’t politically correct to say that, especially as someone who has been involved in these processes for years. But I increasingly feel that much of what happens in these forums is designed more for the photo op or the LinkedIn post than for substantive change. And I believe this challenges all of us working in the socio-environmental sector, regardless of our role.
That said, the Conference of the Parties of the Escazú Agreement is an important event. The Escazú Agreement, which entered into force in April 2021, is the first regional treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean on environmental rights: it intends to guarantee access to environmental information, public participation in decisions affecting the environment, access to environmental justice, and specific protection from threats or criminalisation for environmental defenders.
The fourth Escazú COP was held in Nassau, Bahamas, last month. These conferences should be where the parties showcase progress towards the goals of the treaty. The question should not be how many photos were circulated or how many events took place, but: are we making progress in implementing the agreement?
After more than three years as one of the six elected public representatives of the agreement, this question directly concerns me. My role is designed to facilitate the participation of civil society, researchers, Indigenous peoples, the private sector and others in the process.
My sense is that there is still little substantive progress. Escazú is an ambitious and powerful text. But that is not enough. Treaties, on their own, do not change reality. They require political will, institutions that understand them, technical capacity and funding. And if there is one thing that is often lacking in environmental policies in our region, it is funding.
Escazú should not be a matter
solely for diplomats or specialists.
If those who might need the agreement most are unaware of it, its potential impact is severely limited
It also remains a cause for concern that several key countries are not parties to the agreement. Brazil, Peru and Guatemala are some notable examples. The absence of Costa Rica carries enormous symbolic weight: Escazú, the city where the agreement was adopted in 2018, is within its borders. It’s a stark reminder that a lack of political will can easily derail initiatives like Escazú.
These absences show we cannot take it for granted that the treaty is politically consolidated in the region.
Aside from that, Escazú is still in its infancy. The Nassau COP was the fourth meeting of delegates and it still faces a number of key challenges in achieving its goals.
A little-known agreement
One of the biggest challenges I continue to sense is that the agreement is largely unknown: amongst the public and grassroots organisations, but even amongst the authorities responsible for implementing it. This lack of awareness is a huge problem, because Escazú should not be a matter solely for diplomats or specialists. If those who might need the agreement most are unaware of it, its potential impact is severely limited.
That is also why I am concerned about the gap between what some governments say in their statements, and what local people and organisations in those same countries report. At COP4, as is often the case, everyone appeared to be a great promoter and supporter of the agreement. But in practice, many communities continue to face enormous difficulties in accessing information, participating in decisions that affect their territories, or gaining access to justice. This gap between international rhetoric and reality is one of the issues we should be focusing on most.
At present, there is little to no dissemination, promotion or education regarding the Escazú Agreement, either from the UN or from the states themselves.
Greater coordination at the national level is key. In the countries that have ratified the agreement, this can lead to real implementation, with plans, budgets, training and judicial decisions that genuinely apply the Escazú Agreement. In countries that are not yet members, it can help to move towards ratification or, at the very least, to promote public policies based on the agreement’s core principles.
Acting before conflict
Environmental democracy is at stake long before a conflict erupts. We often talk about Escazú when a community is already protesting or when a defender has already been threatened.
In many countries, accessing environmental justice remains difficult, slow, expensive or hostile. And often those who do manage to reach the courts end up facing harassment, or legal strategies designed to wear them down.
This is, in part, why Escazú exists: so that defending environmental rights is neither an obstacle course nor a risky endeavour. But it should also serve to intervene earlier, to provide the necessary space and time for meaningful participation that can ease conflicts.
Like the treaty itself, our role as elected public representatives remains little known and poorly understood. We facilitate the participation of multiple sectors and represent them in the agreement’s official bodies and in day-to-day work, providing information, listening to organisations and communities, and speaking with states. We do not replace the public nor do we speak for all their voices. We try to open doors and amplify proposals.
These are voluntary roles, carried out by six people with other jobs. On more than one occasion, we have used our own resources to attend summits or travel to different regions. If we want this mechanism to grow, we must also strengthen it.
The elected public representatives need greater resources, so that we can capitalise on opportunities to participate in key summits without compromising our safety. We need guarantees that when the Escazú Agreement’s Implementation and Compliance Support Committee (CAAC) visits a country, an elected public representative will join; we need just as much visibility as the CAAC.
Against a backdrop of democratic setbacks in Latin America, the Caribbean and the world, Escazú remains a source of hope for many people. And that is very valuable. But that hope will not last forever. There must be concrete, tangible actions to give us confidence that the agreement works, that it can be used, and that it can improve the lives of the people and communities defending the environment.
Following Nassau, the challenge is not simply to celebrate that COP4 took place. The challenge is to ask ourselves whether Escazú is making progress where it most needs to: on the ground, in government departments, in the courts, in communities and in everyday conversations across our region.
Escazú must be implemented, understood and utilised. It must move beyond the COPs and the documents. Because if it does not reach those who need it most, it risks remaining nothing more than a beautiful hope, but one that is far too distant.
