In This Issue: the Central American migrant crisis; land and forest governance and the role of Indigenous People; plus news, analysis articles, and upcoming events (and event recaps).

Migration from Central America is not a recent phenomenon yet we often hear terms like “surges” and “crisis” at the border. In this issue, we are featuring The Latin America Working Group’s Migration News Brief, which invites us to think of migration in terms of “cycles.” Cycles of socio-economic instability, US politics, and the ever-more present cycles of extreme weather events, amongst many others, that drive people to migrate. As more intense weather events, compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbate food insecurity and poverty, these cycles of migration have been more frequent and pressing. We are also featuring the article Stopgap methods won’t fix migration challenge, by the People’s World, which highlights the US’s complex history of intervention in Central America and the critical importance to adopt a new approach to policymaking. 

While devastating weather events (which are expected to become more intense with future climate change patterns) are one of many determinants contributing to increased migration, a new UN report titled Forest Governance by Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, makes a promising case for policymakers to protect Indigenous and Tribal Peoples land rights as a way to accelerate conservation, mitigate climate change, and fight food insecurity. This could aid in stemming the flow of migration through policy that actually supports the long-term well-being of Latin America and the Caribbean’s most vulnerable communities. The articles Mining, a Latent Threat to the Amazon and Victims and Deforesters, part of a series of five articles focusing on threats to the Amazon, by the Center of Sustainable Development Goals for Latin America explore the devastating effects of uncontrolled land grabbing for exploitative mining and cattle ranching activities that are displacing local communities and destroying economic opportunities. Cuzcatlán Mine–With License to contaminate by Avispa Midia is yet another investigation of unregulated exploitative mining and the contamination effects this has on local communities. The common denominator of these stories is how a lack of land protections is creating unsuitable environments for living. This begs us to question if policies focused on protecting peoples’ land rights could play a critical role in mitigating migration.  

Please also see the Economic Commission for Latin America’s event on utilizing Earth Observation Solutions to monitor and calculate SDG indicators in Latin America. For a multi-layered analysis of the challenges to development posed by COVID-19 and a discussion of possible solutions, please see FLACSO’s series of conferences on development alternatives in the face of the pandemic. Finally, for a good-feel read, check out Recipes with a Taste of Sustainable Development on the Coast of El Salvador to learn about a small grants program that has provided solar ovens and energy-efficient cookstoves to 18 villages, promoted sustainable agricultural practices, and preserved and restored hundreds of hectares of mangroves and marine ecosystems, showing how small, community-level investments can have transformative, and delicious outcomes. 

Happy Reading!