3 January 2011
OAS Convenes Second High-level Meeting on Sustainable Development
story highlights

Participants agreed to strengthen exchanges on a range of issues including biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and institutional frameworks on sustainable development; and noted the importance of integrated ecosystem management for the well-being of SIDS, inter alia.

20 November 2010: The Second Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Sustainable Development in the framework of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 17-19 November 2010. The Meeting adopted a Declaration recognizing that human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development and that poverty eradication is an integral part of sustainable development.

The meeting, which is also referred to as “the Second Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development,” was convened by the member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) and supported by the OAS Department of Sustainable Development.

The Declaration expressed agreement to convene regular meetings of the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS) in order to support and evaluate the implementation of the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development (PIDS), as well as to follow up on the various decisions arising out of the Summit of the Americas and this ministerial process on sustainable development.

The Declaration further recognizes that “Mother Earth is a common expression for the planet earth in a number of countries and regions, which reflects the interdependence that exists among human beings, other living species and the planet we all inhabit,” and agrees to continue to strengthen the exchange of information, experiences, best practices and lessons learned in member States on integrated water resources management, sustainable energy, biodiversity, sustainable land management, disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, and policies, strategies and legal and institutional frameworks on sustainable development, through inter-American networks established in the framework of the OAS on these issues.

The Declaration refers to the importance of integrated ecosystem management for climate change adaptation and for the social and economic well-being of all countries, “particularly of those with low-lying coastal areas such as Small Island Developing States, those of the tropical isthmus, as well as of those with fragile mountainous ecosystems or with risk of desertification and prolonged droughts.” [The Declaration] [Conference website] [Conference documents]

related posts