Speech: Reimagining Environmental Stewardship in Central America: Honoring Laudato Si’ Amid Global Conflict

Delivered to: Students and Professors of Environmental Law, Red Universitaria de Derecho Ambiental (RUDA, El Salvador and Honduras), and Universidad Braulio Carrillo (Costa Rica)

Event: Panel on “Conflicto Global, Legado de la Encíclica Laudato Si’, y Medio Ambiente: Desafíos y Perspectivas”

Date: Friday, May 9, 2025, 11:00 AM (Costa Rica Time)

Speaker: Dr. Stephen Jordan, CEO, Institute for Sustainable Development

Good morning, esteemed professors, students, and environmental law

scholars of RUDA and Universidad Braulio Carrillo. I’m honored to join Dr.

Julián Chaves, Dr. René Garay, and Dr. Dino Bellorio, moderated by Master

Anika Maldonado, in this webinar hosted by the Instituto Centroamericano de Formación Integral. My gratitude to Dr. Adrián Meza Soza, Rector of

Universidad Paulo Freire and Director of CENIEF, for inviting me to contribute to the launch of the Master in Integral Environmental Management and Sustainability.

We gather in a time of mourning and hope. On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis

passed away, leaving Laudato Si’ as a moral call to care for our common

home and the poor. With Pope Leo XIV’s ascension, we have a chance to

advance environmental stewardship through innovation. My commitment to

resilience began in 1998, leading relief after Hurricanes Georges and Mitch

killed thousands in Central America. As AACCLA’s executive director, we

raised $70 million for recovery. These experiences, paired with Laudato Si’’s

vision, drive my work at the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD),

where we have partnered with the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 Center to advance climate solutions. ISD also supports an international network of environmental research centers to accelerate mitigation, adaptation, carbon capture, and reduction. While Laudato Si’’s premise and goals are sacred, international strategies have faltered. We must honor Francis’ legacy and Leo XIV’s leadership with empowering solutions like hazard mitigation, preparedness, and adaptation.

St. Augustine guides us. In his Confessions, he writes, “Our hearts are

restless until they rest in You,” urging humble truth-seeking. In City of God,

he cautions against flawed human systems. In Sermon 169, he declares,

“Love, and do what you will,” demanding effective action. Inspired by

Augustine, we uphold Laudato Si’’s integral ecology while questioning failed

strategies.

Central America faces hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods, worsened by

poverty and global conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war, which inflate costs,

diverting resources from sustainability. In 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota

affected 7 million, causing $8 billion in damages. In Guatemala, 60% live in

poverty, slowing recovery. An important part of the issue is recognizing that

collective action needs work. Currently the region suffers from the overuse of shared resources. Too many people focus on accessing and exploiting

resources, too few take responsibility for curating them, and thus we all

become more vulnerable. This problem—persists in Honduras’ deforested

Mosquitia and Costa Rica’s overfished Gulf of Nicoya.

We can see this failure at a global scale as well. The Conference of the

Parties (COP) has pursued strategies that have not received desired results:

global carbon emissions—gases warming the planet—rose 60% from 1992 to 2023, and carbon-based energy (e.g., coal, oil) dropped only from 87% to 80% of global energy production.

The issue is not Laudato Si’’s premise or goals but top-down strategies that

sideline local needs.

At ISD, we are committed to innovating new strategies and solutions for

development. Through ISD’s partnership with Biosphere 2, we study

mitigation and adaptation in controlled ecosystems, like coral reefs and

rainforests, informing global resilience. Our support for an international

research network fosters collaboration on carbon capture (e.g., plant-based

sequestration) and reduction (e.g., renewable energy). These efforts

empower the poor and small communities, unlike centralized mandates.

First, hazard mitigation—proactively reducing risks—is vital. Building flood-

resistant roads or restoring Honduras’ coral reefs saves lives. Belize’s

community forests cut deforestation by 20%.

Second, preparedness equips communities. Training El Salvador’s leaders

for evacuations or providing Nicaraguan farmers with weather apps boosts

resilience. Microinsurance—affordable coverage for low-income groups—

protects businesses, as seen post-Eta in Honduras.

Third, adaptation adjusts to changes. Agrivoltaics, where solar panels

shade crops while generating energy, boosts food security. In India, it raised

farmers’ incomes 30%; in Costa Rica, it could power rural grids. Nicaragua’s

solar microgrids reached 10,000 households, outpacing bureaucracy.

These avoid moral hazard—where aid encourages risky behavior—seen in

U.S. flood subsidies or post-Mitch aid’s delays ($9 billion slowed by red tape). Insurance markets (e.g., Belize’s reef insurance) and property rights

(e.g., Guatemala’s forests) align incentives. The 1980 Simon-Ehrlich bet,

where innovation outpaced scarcity, inspires. Panama’s drones plant 100,000 trees daily; Honduras’ satellite assessments speed aid. Universities can research drought-resistant seeds (20% yield increase in El Salvador) or fishery tracking, avoiding U.S.-style waste ($1.2 billion in improper payments).

Global conflict raises renewable energy costs, but Costa Rica’s biofertilizers

cut reliance by 15%. Environmental laws must avoid policies like biofuel

mandates that spiked food prices 30%. Community recovery hubs, unlike

U.S. delays, deliver fast relief, as could Nicaraguan insurance pools ($10,000 per household).

As scholars, you can lead. Your universities, like Biosphere 2, can drive R&D,

train planners, and forge partnerships, building on post-Mitch resilience. In

Augustine’s spirit, let’s blend Laudato Si’’s moral vision with innovation,

honoring Francis and advancing under Leo XIV. When the next Mitch strikes, Central America will stand resilient, our poor protected, and our environment thriving.

Thank you, and I welcome your questions.