This issue covers legal challenges and inequality in land rights from Indigenous communities in Colombia and Panama, to an increasing number of communities in Honduras, increased gender-based violence in Latin America due to COVID-19, the role of digital technologies in rural communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, accountability to conservation in Mexico, and an in-depth analysis of US foreign aid in the Northern Triangle. We also highlight some exciting events to gain female perspectives on gender equality, climate justice, a Green New Deal for Latin America, and a virtual course opportunity to learn about Andean ecosystems environmental management.

We continue to follow the landmark court ruling to recognize the protected Indigenous territory of Comarca for the Naso Tjër Di people in northern Panama and how the adjudication of Indigenous Peoples lands can accelerate conservation efforts. While legal recognition of Indigenous people’s territories is a great first step, the case of predatory wind farm developers establishing misleading agreements with the Wayuu peoples in the Indigenous territory of La Guajira, Colombia, has demonstrated how lack of government oversight or enforcement of Indigenous Peoples land rights has resulted in land leasing regardless of legal rights. Though wind farms are a sustainable energy source, leasing Indigenous territories without proper consultation and consent is not sustainable development. In Argentina, environmental law firm AIDA, has laid a case before the Supreme Court of Mendoza to fight recent regulations allowing for fracking that are argued to violate Argentina’s climate commitments and ignores a legal principle known as the “precautionary principle.”

Finally, US foreign aid to Central America has evolved significantly since the 1980s. However, despite improvements in some areas, US foreign policies’ misalignment with US foreign assistance objectives has led to significant shortcomings in these efforts. The Wilson Center’s US foreign aid analysis shows how equitable partnerships and local leadership in assistance efforts are critical to improving foreign interventions.