Without the environment, there is no food. By Máximo Torero Cullen (FAO Chief Economist)
By Máximo Torero Cullen, FAO Chief Economist and Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the environment is not a static landscape: it is a contested territory, a living fabric that sustains food, economies, cultures, and resilience. In June, Environment Month, the region not only reflects on what has been lost, but also begins to make visible what is being rebuilt. From the FAO, the vision is clear: conservation is not enough. We must regenerate. Agrifood systems must be transformed so that they cease to be part of the problem and become the heart of the climate, economic, and social solution.
The region is home to more than 50% of the planet's biodiversity, but it also suffers from one of the highest rates of environmental degradation. According to the FAO, more than 75% of agricultural lands show signs of deterioration, and more than 2.6 million hectares of forest are lost each year. However, there is another figure that deserves attention: Latin America and the Caribbean are responsible for more than 13% of global agricultural production and are central players in global food security. This begs an uncomfortable and urgent question: how can we continue producing without destroying?
The answer lies in the territory. It lies in public policies that connect agriculture with climate action, such as those that integrate agri-food systems into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It lies in mobilizing funding through mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and the GEF, where FAO has facilitated access to hundreds of millions of dollars for adaptation and mitigation projects. It also lies in regional platforms such as PLACA, which articulate national efforts with shared solutions from the field.
But real change occurs when restoration is deeply rooted: restoring watersheds, soils, vegetation, yes, but also restoring relationships between people, territories, and nature. From the agroforestry systems of the Brazilian Cerrado to the recovery of ancestral Andean practices, biodiversity is becoming a strategic ally. It's not just about conserving species: it's about recovering traditional crops, protecting pollinators, using native seeds, and rescuing knowledge. It's about making diversity a tool for production, nutrition, and resilience.
Water, cohesion and equityWater, for its part, has ceased to be an isolated resource and has become the heart of a new territorial governance. FAO is supporting community-based micro-basin management, smart irrigation, and adaptive water governance processes. Because where water is organized collectively, production, social cohesion, and equity also flourish.
The environmental agenda can no longer be limited to avoiding damage. We must build a sustainable bioeconomy, capable of generating green jobs and added value from biodiversity itself. In the Amazon, for example, the FAO supports indigenous and rural communities in developing biobusinesses that value non-timber forest products without depleting them. Rural women lead many of these ventures, generating income, self-sufficiency, and environmental stewardship.
And in cities, where more than 80% of the region's population now lives, the future of the environment is also at stake. FAO works with local governments to plan sustainable urban agri-food systems, integrate peri-urban agriculture, and strengthen links between rural and urban areas. Because the ecosystem is also cultivated on the plate. Because a tomato produced without destroying a forest is also a political and environmental decision.
Latin America and the Caribbean are demonstrating that we can restore without excluding, conserve without halting, produce without destroying. That the environment is not a limit to development, but its only possible path. From the Andes to the Amazon, from rural schools to urban markets, from institutions to small farmers, the region is demonstrating that a Better Environment is not an abstract promise. It is an urgent, tangible, and achievable agenda.
And it is, furthermore, the only real way to move towards Better Production , Better Nutrition and a Better Life , without leaving anyone behind .
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