2025 National Environmental Forum Consolidates Climate Action and Biodiversity Agenda in El Salvador

During the first day, El Salvador’s 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions were presented, as a strategic instrument that establishes national targets for emissions reduction and climate change adaptation. The results of the climate loss and damage study for the agriculture, transport, and housing sectors were also presented. In addition, high-level panels were held on progress and challenges in clean energy, urban development, and sustainable mobility. 

The Forum included participation from the Ambassador of Germany in El Salvador, a virtual intervention by the Global Director of the NDC Partnership, as well as representatives from United Nations system agencies, development partners, government institutions, and civil society organizations. The event was made possible thanks to the support of UNDP’s Climate Promise initiative, through the Pledge to Impact program, which is funded by the governments of Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, and Iceland, among others; the Green Finance Innovation Initiative funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and projects of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). 

Risk Governance and Early Warning Systems  

On the second day, the agenda focused on strengthening environmental governance in response to the increasing frequency of extreme climate events. The National Special Commission on Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action was presented, an interinstitutional mechanism designed to promote early and timely action in response to high-impact hydrometeorological events.

Rafael Pleitez, Assistant Resident Representative and Chief Economist of UNDP, delivered the presentation “Disaster Risk Reduction as Public Policy: Financing Resilience”. In his intervention, he explained the evolution of the human development approach and highlighted the importance of resilience in integrating the climate agenda, disaster risk reduction, and social development policies. He also underscored the need to incorporate disaster risk management as a national policy framework, aligning economic planning with the social protection of the most vulnerable populations. 

Additionally, the formal handover of meteorological stations donated by the Global Green Growth Institute to MARN took place, contributing to the strengthening of the national climate monitoring infrastructure and aligning with the Early Warning for All initiative promoted by the World Meteorological Organization. 

Biodiversity, Green Finance, and Sustainable Tourism as Pillars of National Development 

On the third day, the Government of El Salvador presented the National Biodiversity Strategy and its Action Plan 2025–2030, an instrument aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that defines priorities for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of the country’s ecosystems. 

Within this framework, an agreement was signed to carry out the Comprehensive Bioecological Diagnosis of the Salvadoran Reef Ecosystem, which will generate unprecedented scientific information for the management and conservation of the country’s three main reef systems. The agenda also included the presentation of initiatives related to sustainable tourism, biodiversity finance, and national species conservation programs. 

With an integrated climate and nature approach, El Salvador – with the support of UNDP and its donors – is advancing toward the construction of a more resilient country: with strengthened institutional capacities and integrated public policy frameworks that harmonize economic development with environmental sustainability and the well-being of its population.