Argentina held a meeting and workshop to consider its National Mountain Zone Assessment and to outline an action plan with goals for strengthening participatory governance for the sustainable development of its mountain zones, as part of the Mountain Partnership's Andes Initiative.
15 March 2012: Argentina held a national committee meeting and workshop in the context of the Mountain Partnership’s “Strengthening participatory governance for sustainable development of the Andes” project. Participants examined a national mountain assessment report, and outlined an action plan and set of goals for strengthening participatory management in the Argentine Andes over the next 18 months.
The Committee for the Sustainable Development of the Mountainous Regions of the Argentine Republic, chaired by the Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development (SAyDS), met in Buenos Aires in the morning of 6 March 2012. In addition to SAyDS, the Committee includes representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Relations, Interior, Science and Technology, Education, Tourism and Defense, as well as from the Secretariats of Energy, Mining, Water Resources and Culture, the National Parks Administration, the Mining Geological Service, and the National Institute for Indigenous Affairs.
The Committee chair, Silvia Alicia Révora, outlined the policy and strategic bases for the national project, and its relationship to the Partnership’s Andes Initiative. Maria Lidia Testani, National Project Coordinator, outlined the next steps in the national project.
Francisco Mendoza, Regional Project Coordinator, explained the methodology used in developing the National Mountain Zone Assessment, stressing its importance. He underscored that mountains are a major source of freshwater as well as tourism and recreation, yet many who reside in mountainous zones are poor and marginalized. Mendoza further noted that the next step in the Andes Initiative after adoption of national assessments is to hold a regional workshop to establish a regional mechanism to coordinate joint action on issues of common interest.
A consultant presented the National Mountain Zone Assessment to the Committee. The Assessment not only provides a picture of the current social, economic and environment situation in the Argentine Andes, but also suggests new possibilities for sustainable development that can benefit not only the communities that live in the mountainous regions, but also those who can benefit from its environmental services.
A workshop was held in the afternoon of that same day, attended by representatives of the institutions comprising the Committee and its Advisory Council, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the provincial governments of Catamarca, Jujuy and Rio Negro, and several foundations. The workshop outlined an action plan based on the Assessment and a set goals for the institutional strengthening of participatory management in the Andes.
The participatory governance project is part of the Mountain Partnership’s Andes Initiative involving Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador (Bolivia and Peru are in the process of joining). The Mountain Partnership Secretariat is housed at the FAO. [FAO Press Release (in Spanish)] [SAyDS Press Release (in Spanish)]