Latin America & The Caribbean Roadmap on Urban Nature-based Solutions Launch

September 28, 2026 | 9am Peru • 11 am Chile • 10am ET-NY

Online via Zoom | En línea vía Zoom

Latin America and Caribbean experts, practitioners, and policy makers discuss seven key recommendations and exemplary case studies for using nature to build climate resilient cities across the region.

Expertos, profesionales y responsables de políticas de América Latina y el Caribe debaten siete recomendaciones clave y estudios de caso ejemplares sobre el uso de la naturaleza para construir ciudades resilientes al clima en la región.

Participating Organizations | Organizaciones y panelistas

WCS • WWF • ICLEI • IUCN • NaturaInvest • The Nature Conservancy • Regional Government of Santiago, Chile • New York University • NATURA • Universidad de los Andes

Authors & Coordinators | Autores y coordinadores

Taicia Helena Negrin Marques, Cynnamon Dobbs, Elizabeth M. Cook, Fabiana Wütrich, Taryn Sánchez Montesinos, Loan Diep, and Timon McPhearson.

NATURA Global Roadmap for Urban Nature-based Solutions

The NATURA Global Roadmap for Urban Nature-based Solutions is a landmark assessment of research and practice that charts a path for scaling nature-based solutions (NbS) to make cities more resilient, equitable, and sustainable.

The Global Roadmap was led by Dr. Timon McPhearson and Dr. Loan Diep, both of New York University, who co-directed the initiative along with more than fifty authors and collaborators from institutions around the world. The project was supported by the National Science Foundation and represents the most extensive global syntheses of urban NbS to date.

The Global Roadmap integrates evidence from seven regional assessments covering Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Oceania, and North America. Drawing on more than 36,000 scientific publications and over 150 representative regional NbS case studies, it provides an unparalleled overview of how cities can harness nature to address climate shocks, biodiversity loss, and public health risks while advancing equity and inclusion. The report calls for embedding NbS in urban governance, diversifying financial mechanisms for long-term investment, and institutionalizing inclusive planning that values Indigenous and local knowledge.

Credits and Acknowledgements

Lead Authors: Dr. Timon McPhearson (New York University), Dr. Loan Diep (New York University)

Contributors and Coordinators: Natalie Pierson (NYU), Rebecca Tiernan (Arizona State University), Vanya Bisht (University of Waterloo), Dave Kendal (Future in Nature), Carole Alazki (The New School), Veronica Olivotto (NYU), Phuong Anh Bui (NYU)

Advisors: Niki Frantzeskaki (University of Utrecht), Erik Andersson (University of Helsinki), Rob McDonald (The Nature Conservancy), Pippin Anderson (University of Cape Town), Harriet Bulkeley (Durham University), Yeowon Kim (Korea University), Weiqi Zhou (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Additional contributors include dozens of scholars and practitioners from across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Oceania, and US-Canada who participated in regional assessments and knowledge synthesis. Together, more than eighty authors and collaborators informed the findings and recommendations of this report.

Funding: This initiative was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) through Grants #1927468 and #1927167.