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Intergovernmental consultations regularly carried out in the last two decades by the highest environmental authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean led to the establishment of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of the region. The 15 meetings held to date have consolidated the Forum as the most representative and important political gathering on environmental policies and responses with broad consensus at the regional level.
The support provided by UNEP/ROLAC as Secretariat of the Forum has not been limited to simply organizing meetings and preparing support documents, since over the years a partnership among the Governments has developed and UNEP/ROLAC has helped to narrow the gap between regional and global environmental agendas. Together with the international institutions that joined the Forum (UNEP, UNDP, ECLAC, IDB and the World Bank) as part of its Inter-Agency Technical Committee (ITC), the Forum has been able to channel international cooperation activities into environmental areas in the region. These international institutions assist both in identifying financial sources for projects and studies and in coordinating rapid and flexible responses to national and regional environmental needs.
The Forum has also been successful in improving the participation of Latin American and Caribbean countries in international conferences and multilateral environmental agreements. An example of the significant degree of development achieved is the Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC), the principal output of the regional process that was carried out in preparation for the Summit on Sustainable Development and formed part of the Forum’s 2001-2002 work programme.
The importance of the ILAC lies in its relevance to regional goals linked to the sustainable use and development of biodiversity and the increase in the use of renewable energy sources by up to 10% of the regional energy matrix. The development of technologies to ensure water quality and its appropriate management, as well as the implementation of plans and policies to reduce urban environmental vulnerability in relation to anthropogenic and natural disasters, also make this regional cooperation platform valuable.
The ILAC was explicitly included in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and includes regional target goals and indicator activities in key areas of environmental management and sustainable development. Additionally, one of its goals is to obtain commitments compatible with the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Millennium Development Goals. At various international forums, the Forum of Ministers reiterated its demands that the developed countries should fulfil their commitment to allocate 0.7% of their GDP to official support for the development and implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, which deals with the theme of special needs of the small island developing States in the region.
Aware that the challenge facing the region is to combat the growing rates of poverty and inequality and, at the same time, integrate environmental and social concerns, the Forum has underscored the need for activities that cut across sectors. Emerging issues related to trade and environment, vulnerability to climate change, health, the use of economic instruments for environmental management and other themes have required the development of cooperation with several subregional ministerial forums and their secretariats.
Considering the need to make combined efforts at the subregional, regional and international levels and to fully utilize the resources available, the Forum has strengthened its working relationship with subregional organizations such as the Secretariat of the Andean Community of Nations, the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community, and the cooperation mechanism of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), which was also improved with associations of parliamentarians, judges and civil society networks.
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