|
UNEP NEWS November 2007
Meeting of Ministers of the Environment of MERCOSUR countries
At this meeting, the Strategy of Land Degradation of the Region, which was drafted by a joint work group with support from the GTZ, the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) Global Mechanism, and the UNEP, was approved. In the discussions of the strategy, some countries (Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina) requested support from the UNEP for the study on the standardisation of public policies on land management. Taking advantage of the occasion, the Regional Director met with the Environment Director General of Uruguay to talk about cooperation between the UNEP and Uruguay, particularly in the area of sustainable consumption and production. A number of actions, which will begin before March 2008, were agreed upon. Likewise, the Regional Director met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uruguay, Pablo Mandeville. The meeting focused on the One UN Programme, as well as on actions on other UNEP activities included in the UNDAF (United Nations Development Assistance Framework). It should be noted that, according to the opinion of the RD, “Productive Uruguay” was defined as a priority measure, and failing to include “sustainable consumption and production” is a major mistake as it is not aligned with the United Nations or the international principles agreed upon at JPOI (Johannesburg Plan of Implementation). The Regional Director made a presentation on the status of the various activities planned by the UNEP, as requested by the work group. Meanwhile, the Ministers and Chiefs of Delegations acknowledged the support from the UNEP and asked it to continue offering such support.
Meeting of United Nations Regional Directors
The Meeting of Agency Directors was inaugurated by the President of the Regional Directors team, Rebeca Grynspan, of the UNDP and the ECLAC Executive Secretary, Jose Luis Machinea. On December 18th, all the Regional Directors will meet again in Panama to continue their discussions and sign and agreement to create a fiduciary fund along with the Government of Panama.
Meeting with the Deputy Secretary General
The meeting was inaugurated on November 26th, 2007, with speeches by Machinea and the Deputy Secretary General, Mrs. Migiro, who expressed her interest in the regional focus of the United Nations as a means to moving forward with the contributions of the System at the regional level. In the update of the activities of the United Nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, each one of the Regional Directors presented a brief report on their tasks in the region. Meanwhile, the UNEP Regional Director, Ricardo Sanchez Sosa, stressed the need to focus Environmental Sustainability upon the Millennium Development Objectives (MDG), by working together with the country team of the United Nations and the UNDAF (CCA/UNDAF) on the promotion of political talks and advice on environmental issues; strengthening South-South cooperation as an instrument for the implementation of the Bali Plan; and prioritising the issues of Climate Change and Energy, Sustainable Production and Consumption, and disasters in the regional tasks. He also mentioned the inclusion of issues such as Public Awareness, Environmental Education, and Youths as important tasks.
Regional Application Forum of Latin America and the Caribbean
The meeting was inaugurated by Jose Luis Machinea, ECLAC Executive Secretary; Zvetolyub Basmajiev, Representative of the Sustainable Development Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA); Juan Mario Dary, Representative of the SDC 16 (16th Session of the Sustainable Development Commission of the United Nations) and Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala; and Alvaro Sapag, Executive Director of the National Environment Commission (CONAMA) of the Government of Chile. The meeting was also attended by the representatives from governments of various countries in the region, experts from international organizations and main groups, and the UNEP/ROLAC Director, Ricardo Sanchez Sosa, who was the speaker at the inaugural session. At the session, he presented the main problems with natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, such as deforestation, land degradation, pollution, and water shortages in some areas and coast degradation in others. He also stressed that compliance with the objectives of the MDG is not good in rural areas or indigenous communities. This second Regional Application Forum stems from the mandate given by the SDC to the regional commissions of the United Nations to organise meetings of application of global agreements on sustainable development matters. The objective was also to make contributions to the work being done by the SDC and reach regional consensus on the matters that were discussed. There were also debates on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, and desertification. These are the issues under which the SDC work will be organised in the 2008-2009 cycle, according to its multi-annual work programme drafted in 2003.
V Ibero-American Sustainable Development Meeting (EIMA 5) The V Ibero-American Sustainable Development Meeting (EIMA 5) was held in Panama City with the participation of approximately 50 experts from 22 countries. At the forum, whose slogan was “Knowledge and Cooperation,” the experiences, vision, and problems Spain has and those proposed by Latin American countries in favour of sustainable development were made public. The director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (CIDES), Panamanian Rodrigo Tarte, at the opening session said that “the success of our development models and actions depend upon our knowledge of how our ecosystems work and how they react to our interference.” "It is not by chance then, he added, that today we are beginning this meeting by stressing two basic pillars to face the challenges posed by sustainable development: knowledge and cooperation.” He explained that “there cannot be sustainable development without cooperation. The world is too complex for each individual, institution, or country to believe that on its own it is capable of promoting development strategies, limiting itself only to its realms of action.” Meanwhile, the president of the CONAMA Foundation, Spaniard Gonzalo Echague, said, “I am certain these three days of activities will be useful to bring to the table innovative proposals, points of view, and experiences.” He maintained that “in this meeting, we are going to focus upon matters of a great interest, which will enable us to have a broad concept of what we are currently looking for on sustainable development matters.” The mayor of the Panamanian capital, Juan Carlos Navarro; the president-elect of the Supreme Court of Justice, Harley Mitchell; the director of the National Environment Authority (ANAM), Ligia de Doens; the director of the UNEP Regional Office, Ricardo Sanchez Sosa; and Spanish Ambassador to Panama Jose Manuel Lopez-Barron were also present at the inaugural session. Among the issues that were discussed, we could mention “the development of infrastructure within the framework of sustainability” and “biofuels and their relation to food safety.” In addition, special attention was paid to the need for correct management and planning of resources for the conservation of nature. The current city model was also analysed.”
Presentation of GEO 4 in Panama
Life on Planet Earth is more difficult by the day. Climate change, the rate of extinction of species, the accumulation of greenhouse effect gases, and the loss of biological diversity constitute one of the serious threats the world is facing. The human race is also in jeopardy. These are some of the points the UNEP Regional Director stressed. The current changes to biodiversity are expected to be the fastest in the history of humankind. The thing is that species are becoming extinct 100 times faster than the rate shown by fossils. Of the large groups of vertebrates that have been evaluated, over 30 percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals, and 12 percent of birds remain in jeopardy. The world is at risk, and this is the concern of the UNEP and the 309 experts that evaluated the environmental problems of the GEO 4, with the participation of more than 1,000 collaborators worldwide. According to the GEO-4 report, there remain problems that have not been resolved or addressed, such as the increase in oxygen-free zones in oceans and the reappearance of new and old diseases thanks to environmental degradation. "We are going through an environmental crisis that is about to exceed the capacities to respond of world governments, and if something urgent is not done, it will lead to a disaster in the world economy and human lives,” Sanchez warned with concern. This dilemma will also show up at the doors of Latin American and Caribbean countries, which are facing such threats as urban growth, the loss of biodiversity, coastal damage, maritime pollution, and vulnerability to climate change.
The PISLM (Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management) is one of the initiatives outlined in the Caribbean SIDS Programme approved by the Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean. The UNEP/ROLAC participated in this process.
On November 1st, the meeting of the Panama country team of the United Nations took place to discuss the proposals of the Spanish Funds for the Millennium Objectives (MDO), the preparation of the report on the MDO for the country, and the follow-up of the application of the UNDAF (United Nations Development Assistance Framework). The Programme Official of the UNEP Regional Office, Kakuko Nagatani, was present at the event.
IV Meeting of the Grand Caribbean to control and fight marine pollution stemming from land sources
The objective of the meeting was to analyse measures and activities to be carried out in the short, medium, and long term to reduce the impact of pollution on the region that harms various countries in the Caribbean and North, Central, and South America. The event was attended by sixty delegates from thirty nations who benefited from support and technical and scientific advice to fight and initially reduce pollution impact in the area. “Likewise, the actions carried out under the protocol related to pollution stemming from land activities (FTCM) in the last few years and the work and budget plan for the upcoming years were analysed,” said Mr. Christopher Corbin, Programme Official for Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) of the UNEP, which manages the projects linked to the implementation of the FTCM Protocol. The programme is under the jurisdiction of the UNEP and was promoted by all the nations of the Grand Caribbean. It is headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica.
The UN Team Helps the States of Chiapas and Tabasco
The disaster coordination and assessment is offering assistance in order to make a quick environmental assessment. The Natural Resources Official of the UNEP/ROLAC, Julio Calderon, was part of this team.
Programme to Strengthen the Global Capacity of the Eight on Environmental Law and Policies GTP8
The UNEP / ROLAC was represented by the Environmental Law official, Andrea Brusco. Among the participants, representatives from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as legal officials from developing countries of other regions, were included. The objective of this event was to provide education to and the exchange of knowledge on environmental law among the legal officials of environmental associations. Andrea Brusco presented the reports "Trends and Challenges of Environmental Law in Latin America and the Caribbean” (based upon the document drafted beforehand that was already distributed among participants). She also participated in all the other periods of sessions of the GTP. This week, various meetings with the Unit Chiefs and colleagues were held to discuss and report on the implementation of the various ongoing programmes. On Wednesday, November 15th, a meeting of Gender Coordinators took place, and on November 16th, a bilateral meeting with the UNEP Higher Adviser on gender matters took place to supervise the progress made upon the implementation of the Gender Action Plan of the UNEP / ROLAC.
Discovering and Designing New Tourist Destinations and Products
The UNEP coordinator in Mexico, Enrique Leff, participated as the keynote speaker in this event, which was attended by 500 students of the Hotel and Tourism programmes from the Latin American region, including 150 students from the Dominican Republic and Mexico. There also were representatives from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Cuba.
Inter-Parliamentarian Forum on Environmental Citizenship
The activity represents the end of a year of process, when PARLATINO and the UNEP decided to analyse the possibilities for the creation of an Environmental Court in Latin America. The event was attended by 30 lawmakers from the following countries: Germany, Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Cuba, Curacao, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, the Netherlands Antilles, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Following the deliberations by those present, the attendees concluded that prior to the creation of an Environmental Court, it is necessary to strengthen the areas of information access and environmental justice access in the region. The event also discussed a Final Declaration on Environmental Citizenship. Following a day of debates, the declaration was accepted and approved by the participating lawmakers. This event was considered a major achievement on the part of the team that participated in this process, led by the representative from the Environmental Law Programme of the UNEP / ROLAC, Dr. Andrea Brusco; the GEC Project Coordinator, Ruben Marquez; and Drs. Jorge Caillaux and Carlos Chirinos for the Peruvian Environmental Law Association.
Workshop on Joint Programmes of the Inter-American Agency
The objective of the workshop was to provide guidance to UN agencies and national governmental organisations on the Joint Programme Principles and also to debate the next steps to implement the One UN Programme in Uruguay (One UN in Uruguay), putting special attention to fund coherence. More than 40 people participated in the workshop, most of whom were representatives from approximately 12 agencies of the UN. The UNEP / ROLAC was the only regional agency present in the workshop. This one-day workshop was facilitated by Ed Madinger, Regional Adviser of the UN Reform, and ended with a teleconference with Robert Piper, acting director of the UNEP – Spain.
Peru: Compliance Assistance Programme
The official visited the National Ozone Technical Office at the Ministry of Industry and Production to discuss such issues as the progress made upon the update of the Coolant Management Plan, in which UNEP – ROLAC supports training for Customs Service personnel, as well as training for technicians in the process of certification for coolants and air conditioners. He also held meetings with Peruvian customs officials who are willing to carry out a training activity once they are released from responsibilities linked to assistance tasks as a result of the recent earthquake. Among the agreements reached during this visit, we can point to the organisation of a training course on the current legislation for Customs Agents and private companies in charge of imports and once more train customs officials in the first quarter of 2008. Likewise, the Coolant Management Plan official supported consultants Marco Calderon and Manuel Casado during his visit to two cities that have a large consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODS) – Piura and Iquitos – in order to gather information on remnant consumption and draft the National CFC Total Elimination Plan.
Funds for Institutional Strengthening Projects The Regional Director recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of El Salvador to extend the Institutional Strengthening Project (V Phase – Year 1) with a total of US$30,000 approved funds. Meanwhile, the Regional Director approved an amendment to the OZO 02/2006 MOU with the Government of Bolivia to extend the Institutional Strengthening Project (V Phase), which will ease the distribution of pending disbursements and the presentation of reports. The Government of Guatemala was also given a total of $53,733.20 as the first disbursement of the 015/2006 OZO MOU for technical assistance, training, supervision, and follow-up of all the activities linked to the Coolant Management Plan.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Brazil
Access to Environmental Justice in Brazil
The main bottlenecks regarding access to environmental law in the country and the way to address them adequately during the implementation of the project were debated at the meeting. The project’s proposal is to improve environmental justice in Brazil through the identification of loopholes, the dissemination of lessons learned and the best practices, and training for judges, prosecutors, and other interested parties at the national and state levels.
Brazil: South-South Cooperation Project
International Seminar and Training Workshop on Sustainable Public Procurement
Barbara Morton, director of the project of the Department of the Environment, Food, and Rural Issues (DEFRA) of the United Kingdom, was in charge of the Seminar, and the training was given by Christopher Browne, Public Acquisition Strategy manager of the UK Environment Agency. The opening was given by Dr. Romina Picolotti, Minister of the Environment of Argentina, and Dr. Juan Manuel Abal Medina, Deputy Government Secretary of the Nation. The event was organized by the Argentine Government: the Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat, the National Hiring Office (ONC) of the Deputy Secretariat of Public Affairs – Chief of Ministers Cabinet (SGP), and it was supported by the UNEP / ROLAC.
Environmental Education Network Coordinator in the Southern Cone
Likewise, the coordinator gave a conference at the IV “Good Water” Meeting on “Dialogues on Water and Dialogues on Knowledge.” An opening speech was also delivered through a videoconference at the III Seminar of the Environment and Thought, which took place in Manizales, Colombia.
An interesting debate took place later, since most participants worked directly with the Citizen Participation Unit of the same secretariat. The event was attended by 40 representatives of the 32 Mexican states.
Experts on Refrigeration Visit Honduras.
At the same time, the objective was also to learn of the training and study plans that are being implemented for Refrigeration Technicians in relation to Hydrocarbons (HC). With the information on the experiences of these countries on this matter, ozone officials are trying to support and promote HC as a viable and economic alternative to the refrigerants and air conditioning units that were confiscated as part of a strategy to comply with the country’s obligations with the Protocol of Montreal.
The objective of the meeting was to know the possible use (import and export) of methyl bromide in Nicaragua. Other authorities who participated in this meeting include OIRSA (Regional Fumigation Officials Organisation), local officials, and possible methyl bromide users. At the meeting, a draft of the document on the final phase of the gradual elimination of Methyl Bromide (MB) imports for 2010 was published, and an explanation was given on the consequences and implications of the Protocol of Montreal. In addition, the UNEP has promoted three consultation missions since 2004 in order to clarify the possible use of MB in the country. The current administrative and technical procedures to fumigate containers that come into and leave the country, which with the use of MB, increase costs for users and consumers, were debated.
Honduras: Protocol of Montreal
The programs for continuous education on customs and fiscal matters for government officials from the region will be the responsibility of the Central American Customs School. The Ozone Action Team of the ROLAC represented the UNEP in this workshop, whose objective was to increase the environmental awareness of 20 customs officials from the Dominican Republic, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. This training is also part of the implementation of the environmental policies of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and was organised by the Central American Environment and Development Commission (CCAD), with support from the USAID and US EPA. The following were the main results of the mission: sponsor an introduction to training on control and prevention of the illegal trade of ozone depleting substances among Central American customs officials; strike alliances with the CCAD, USAID, and US EPA under North/South Cooperation and South/South Cooperation policies and finally support the work of CAFTA on the environment and link trade relations to the environment.
Third Regional Meeting of GEO Youth for Latin America and the Caribbean
Meanwhile, Artie Dubrie, Ozone Official of the Regional Office, shared his experience on the implementation of the Protocol of Montreal with young environmental leaders, particularly showing them the Ozzy Ozone cartoon project.
Ozone Programme in ECOAMERICAS ECOAMERICAS, a monthly report on development and the environment in Latin America, published an article on the ODS (Ozone Depleting Substances) consumption situation in the region. The Coordinator of the CAP (Compliance Assistance Programme) Team Regional Network, Mirian Vega, was interviewed, along other regional leaders, such as the Executive Director of the Environmental Research Agency and National Ozone Officials from Argentina and Colombia.
Actividades futuras: ···················································
|
