31 March 2016: At a regional forum held in preparation for the Second UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-2), environment ministers from Latin American and Caribbean countries agreed on arrangements for cooperation on climate, air quality, and chemicals and waste. They also called for fast, ambitious and integrated action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 20th Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and hosted by the Government of Colombia, took place in Cartagena, from 28-31 March 2016, and resulted in the ‘Cartagena Declaration,’ as well as a set of decisions. Participants included ministers and high-level representatives from 33 countries, as well as representatives from UN agencies and programmes, international organizations, the private sector and civil society.
The Declaration discusses, inter alia: promoting the healthy functioning of ecosystems; strengthening environmental education programmes; strengthening national technical and methodological capacities by UN regional bodies, through a process to be carried out by the Statistical Conference of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on developing regional indicators; strengthening UNEP at the regional level; implementing the Good Living vision in harmony with Mother Nature; strengthening regional cooperation on environmental law; and conserving and sustainably using oceans and protecting biodiversity and the marine environment.
Ministers agreed to establish a Regional Cooperation Platform on Climate Change for Latin America and the Caribbean, which will seek to advance action on adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, as well as on financing and means of implementation (MOI) of the Paris Agreement, including transfer of climate technologies and capacity building.
The ministers also adopted an updated version of the Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC), and supported a resolution on small island developing States (SIDS) that will be considered at UNEA-2, in May 2016. The resolution calls for supporting national and regional programmes and projects critical to long-term development, including efforts on climate change, biodiversity, land degradation and water resources management.
On air quality, the ministers called for urgent action and increased financing to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), such as methane and hydrofluorocarbons, in the context of the Regional Plan of Action on Atmospheric Pollution. UNEP estimates that large-scale mitigation of SLCPs worldwide would prevent 2.4 million deaths from air pollution every year.
Ministers agreed to establish an intergovernmental network on chemicals and waste for Latin America and the Caribbean, to strengthen the environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste, and facilitate the exchange of experiences. They agreed to continue supporting implementation of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP), promote environmental education, and support the full implementation of the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Additionally, ministers discussed South-South cooperation on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and linkages between health and environment.
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner welcomed the forum’s decisions, and emphasized that the environment is an integral part of all 17 SDGs. He said the Government of Colombia’s peace negotiations with FARC are a reminder of the role of the environment in many aspects of life, and 40% of interstate conflicts in the past 60 years have been linked to natural resources. He also highlighted the value of indigenous knowledge for managing ecosystems, essential for regulating climate, maintaining food security and supporting eco-tourism and associated economic development. Steiner urged governments to scale up their sustainable development efforts, noting success in several countries, including Costa Rica’s complete switch to renewable energy, reforestation efforts in Brazil and Costa Rica, and Chile’s implementation of a carbon tax.
Antonio Prado, ECLAC, said monitoring the SDG indicators may require new measurement instruments, which will necessitate regional agreement. For example, for SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), the region will need a statistical standard to achieve the comparability of cities over time. Prado called for: enriching the work of ECLAC’s Statistical Conference in coordination with the UN Statistics Division; adopting integrated national accounts; transforming the fields of public finances, planning and public and private investment in order to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement; adopting a new culture of sustainable consumption that goes beyond technological changes for achieving cleaner production; exploring new financing mechanisms, for example, through a green tax reform; and decreasing and compensating for subsidies that are harmful to the environment.
The Forum of LAC environment ministers originated in 1982, and meets every two years. The UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) is the Forum’s Secretariat. Since 2002, the Forum’s work has been guided by ILAC, which is part of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002.
Argentina and Paraguay will host the 21st Forum of LAC Environment Ministers, in 2018. [UNEP Press Release, 30 March] [Remarks by Achim Steiner] [Meeting Webpage (Spanish) for XX Reunión del Foro de Ministros de Medio Ambiente de América Latina y el Caribe] [ROLAC Press Release, 31 March] [ECLAC Press Release, 31 March]