La Ruta del Clima

La Ruta del Clima (Asociación La Ruta del Clima) is a Costa Rican non-governmental organisation founded in 2015. Starting as a largely volunteer-based association, it has grown into a regional organisation working across Central America, including Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. It is a member of Climate Action Network Latin America (CANLA) and ESCR-Net, and in 2023 it submitted observations to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the advisory proceedings on the climate emergency and human rights. Its purpose is to promote public participation, human rights and climate justice in climate governance. The organisation works from the conviction that people have a right to take part in the decisions that shape climate action, and that communities most affected by climate change must be heard at local, national and international level. Its primary activities fall into four areas. First, community programmes: the Jicarito Fund supports adaptation and responses to loss and damage; the Lyra project accompanies women leading climate action in their territories; and the Colibrí programme works with young people on the climate crisis through dialogue, community science and mental health. Second, applied research, where La Ruta del Clima is a regional reference on loss and damage and has developed indicators for non-economic loss and damage and for planned relocation. Third, training and capacity building for communities, youth and decision-makers on climate policy, international negotiations, climate finance, gender and health. Fourth, advocacy and strategic communication, including participation in international climate governance forums and campaigns that make technical issues accessible. On Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, it has implemented a loss and damage project with the community of Cahuita.