Photo Caption: UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability: From Local to Global Liette Vasseur (second from left) discussed how nature-based solutions can build more sustainable economies at a trilateral global forum in Mexico City on Thursday, July 24. Also pictured are Luis Alain Zúñiga Hernández (left) of Ecopil, Mexico; Felicia Marcus (second from right), Visiting Fellow at Stanford University; and Gregg Bill (right) of Accounting for Nature.

The Nature-based Solutions concept has become a buzz term in many spheres of society. It attracts industries, organizations and governments because of the possibility it presents to use nature are a way to address societal challenges such as food security, water quality, biodiversity loss, and climate change. It can also be connected to the concept of circular economy, when we consider the reduction of waste and exploitation of natural resources.

On Thursday, 24 July 2025, in Mexico City, the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), organized a public forum, Building Sustainable Economies: Circular Models and Nature-based Solutions for a Resilient North America. The public forum was a hybrid (in-person and virtual) event. Liette Vasseur, UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability: From Local to Global, was invited to speak on Nature-based Solutions in the first session of this public forum.

The JPAC is the public face of the CEC, which represents the parallel agreement of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The JPAC, through these types of consultations, prepares recommendations that are then submitted to the Council of the Ministers of the Environment of the three countries (Canada, USA, and Mexico). The Council meeting was held on the Friday, the day following the public forum.

“Having been a member of the JPAC several years ago, I know the importance and the influence of this advisory committee to influence public policies in the three countries,” Vasseur said. “The fact that the JPAC was interested in these concepts of Nature-based Solutions and circular economy demonstrates the willingness of the countries to accelerate the transition to more resilience  and sustainable economies in North America.”

To follow updates on the work of the CEC and the JPAC, visit their website here.