ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY AND RACIAL JUSTICE

ABSTRACT

Afro-descendant peoples of the Americas are disproportionately affected by overlapping crises such as climate change, the loss of biodiversity, ecological degradation, the Covid-19 pandemic, the public health crisis, extreme socioeconomic inequality, structural racism and the increase in violence against social leaders. Although the communities in what we have named the Black/Afro-descendant Natural Belt of the Americas (ANBA) have a crucial role to play in an integrated response to these crisis, and in spite of the wealth of experiences and good practices at the local and national level, not enough importance has been attributed to the central role they play in the planetary socio-ecological transition needed to overcome the climate and biodiversity crises. This article, among other topics, debates the importance of Afro-descendant communities in the implementation of a range of natural climate solutions, in the region and at a global level, in the territories that are conceptually part of this belt.