Scientific innovation and research
There is a need to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in research and innovation. UNESCO, building on its existing international legal instruments and action in this field, such as the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science and the 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers, developed with the Brazilian Presidency Recommendations on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Science, Technology, and Innovation.
These recommendations contain a focus on strengthening the presence of women in science, recognizing the 2024 UNESCO Call to Action to close the Gender Gap in Science, launched last February. Despite some progress in recent decade, with varying success depending on disciplines and countries, gender equality in science remains elusive. Lack of gender equality in science is not just a problem that affects women, it also limits scientific progress and hamstrings a country’s development and its efforts to build peaceful societies.
UNESCO also co-organized the G20 International Seminar on Amazon and Tropical forests, together with the Brazilian Presidency of the G20 and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.
The role of the Amazon in regulating the global climate cannot be underestimated. The Amazon basin is an extraordinary haven of biodiversity, home to 40% of the world's remaining tropical forests and 25% of the Earth's biodiversity. But the consequences of climate disruption cannot be ignored, given that 75% of the world's land surface has been considerably modified by man. Safeguarding the Amazon ecosystem is essential for our collective future.
UNESCO is committed to helping the countries of the Amazon region strengthen their resilience, in particular through its Amazon project, supported by LVMH. This project supports the resilience of ecosystems and has two objectives: better protect nature and better support local communities and indigenous populations. Because biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development go hand in hand.
Find out more about UNESCO's actions in this area from our Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainability, Oskar Metsavaht:
