Jaguars (Panthera onca) are apex predators whose conservation depends on large, connected landscapes that transcend national borders. Across much of their range, jaguar populations are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, infrastructure development, human–wildlife conflict, and illegal killing and trade.

In response, CMS Parties adopted Resolution 14.14 at COP14, establishing the CMS Jaguar Initiative as a framework for coordinated, transboundary conservation. Since then, major progress has been achieved, notably through the endorsement of the Regional Action Plan for Jaguar Conservation (2025), which places ecological connectivity and cooperation among Range States at its core.

This side event, coordinated with WWF as lead organizer and OFB as co-organizer and contributor in collaboration with Panthera, the French Guiana Amazonian Park and national governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, will present the Guiana Shield and the Pantanal Chaco landscapes as a concrete examples of transboundary cooperation in South America. Covering Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, French Guiana and Colombia, the Guiana Shield hosts some of the most intact jaguar habitats and functional corridors across the species’ range. Conversely, the Pantanal Chaco jaguar corridors are among the most threatened in the region.

The event will showcase ongoing cooperation between diferent goverments and conservation NGOs, and discuss how such approaches can support the implementation of the CMS mandate and the Regional Action Plan, while enhancing synergies with CITES and other biodiversity-related frameworks. Moreover, by convening governments of Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, this event will highlight national actions on jaguar connectivity and explore pathways to establish a multi-country commission dedicated to advancing transnational cooperation for jaguar corridors.