UNEP NEWS January 2008

Ministers of the Environment Demand Countries to reduce Gas Emissions

The XV Forum of Ministers of the Environment and chiefs of delegation of Latin America and the Caribbean meeting in this capital demanded, in its final declaration, developed countries to fulfil their obligations regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change.

Likewise, the declaration urges further development and implementation of the Programme for Small Island Developing States, including the supply of predictable financial and technical resources. Following five days of discussions, the environmental officials issued the Declaration of Santo Domingo, which outlines 20 points.

Omar Ramirez, Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, read the document at a press conference held very late at night on Friday, February 1st, at El Embajador Hotel, where the event was held. Ramirez made public the declaration along with Ricardo Sanchez, Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The ministers asked to promote the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought and its links to climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives and the integrated ecosystems management. They deemed urgent the promotion of sustainable land use and management, including preventable deforestation as a possible instrument for the region.

Another point of the Declaration asks to increase the efforts for the conservation of biodiversity through the strengthening of the national systems of protected land and sea areas, as well as other conservation instruments. It also acknowledges the importance of the increase in protected areas, transition zones, and biological corridors in the countries of the region.

It also urges combining efforts, as part of the implementation process, among the new initiatives such as the Caribbean biological corridor with other already consolidated initiatives.

The Latin American and Caribbean countries, in the opinion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are among those that will most experience the impact of climate change in the next decades. Its effects, it understands, will intensify.

Floods in small island states and densely populated coastal zones, stronger hurricanes, water shortages, droughts, a drop in food production, the melting of mountain glaciers, and loss of biodiversity are included among these impacts.

See the full Declaration in www.unep.org

Opening Ceremony of the XVI Forum of Ministers of The Environment of Latin America and The Caribbean

Ministers and representatives from 33 countries met in La Fiesta Hall at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel, where the opening session of the XVI Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean took place.

The opening ceremony was presided over by the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Omar Ramirez, and Ricardo Sanchez, Regional Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The following were also present: Roberto Dobles, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica as President of the UNEP Governing Council; Carlos Guerrero, Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador, who is occupying the presidency of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development; Ann David-Anoine, Minister of Health, Social Security, the Environment, and Ecclesiastic Relations of Grenada, who was representing the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean (SIDS); and Romina Picolotti, Secretary of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina, who was representing the Ministers of  MERCOSUR.

Sanchez Sosa relayed greetings and wishes for the success of the Forum session from the UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, who was unable to participate in the Forum in person, as he had planned, due to the serious events taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Regional Director stressed the commitment of the Dominican Republic in the organisation of the XVI Meeting of the Forum of Ministers despite the weather-related events that forced the postponement of the Forum in November 2007.

Later, he stressed the significance of the meeting as a venue for political debate among environmental authorities to assess the progress made on the implementation of the Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC).

Let us recall that this initiative was adopted by the countries of the region in 2002 and included in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation mainly to agree upon priority actions for the next few years.

In addition, he said that emerging issues in the international environmental agenda such as Governance, Climate Change, and Ecosystem Management had been planned to be addressed at the XVI Meeting of the Forum. All these issues are very important for the Region given their vulnerability, as well as cross-cutting environmental policies, resulting in the inclusion of the environmental aspect on economic and development policies, a sustainable development mandate.

The UNEP/ROLAC Director pointed to the significance of adopting strategies to advance toward a green economy and take into account the costs of environmental deterioration, because they could contribute to making the economies of the countries in the region successfully face the external pressure that could lead to a world economic slowdown. He concluded his speech by reiterating the invitation to the Ministers of the Environment to participate in the 10th Special Session of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum, which will be held in Monaco in February 2008.

Meanwhile, the Dominican Environment Minister, Omar Ramirez, affirmed that Latin America is in the “first row” among the regions that suffer the most due to global warming, a phenomenon caused by developed countries.

"We must take advantage of the global debate on the environmental issue to insist on fair financing for our countries, which are experiencing a problem they are barely responsible for,” the local official stressed.

In this regard, the Dominican Environment Minister said that Latin America and the Caribbean are responsible for barely 5 percent of the emissions that contribute to global warming.

The Forum was attended by 122 participants who were distributed as follows: 82 delegates from 28 countries in the region; 1 (one) representative from an observer country; 11 representatives from 6 agencies, programmes, commissions, secretariats, and conventions of the United Nations System; 18 representatives from 15 intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations; as well as 10 special guests.

Report on Climate Change in the Caribbean presented

As part of the XVI Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Draft Report on Climate Change in the Caribbean was presented. At the meeting with the media from the Dominican Republic and accredited foreign correspondents, the Environment Director of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment of Cuba, Orlando Rey, who was the coordinator of the publication, and Kakuko Nagatani from the UNEP Early Warning and Assessment Unit were present.

In their presentation, the experts pointed out that Caribbean countries must take measures to face the effects of climate change. At a press conference, Kakuko Nagatani said that the time to make decisions to fight the phenomenon has arrived. Otherwise, “we will have serious consequences,” Nagatani said at the presentation in Santo Domingo of a report on climate change in the Caribbean and the challenges of adapting to it.

According to the specialists who drafted the report, climate change in this region represents “a symbiosis of threats, risks, challenges, and opportunities.”

The specialists also regretted the fact that the region is suffering the impact of climate change, to whose origin “they contributed little.” Nagatani recalled that this region emits only 5 percent of greenhouse gas effects.

Among the measures outlined by the experts, the development of renewable energy and high-efficiency technologies stand out, as does the promotion of general knowledge on climate change in the various countries.

Orlando Rey said that his country is featuring a programme for the population’s adaptation to climate change in the short, medium, and long terms.

The official cited as example the measures taken by the Government in the tourist sector, one of its main economic sources, whose infrastructure is being built, he explained, taking into account the likely effects stemming from climate change.

"We are building thinking about climate change. We are developing tourism thinking about climate change,” he maintained.

Ivo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change in the XVI Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean

The XVI Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean was attended by the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Ivo de Boer, who at a press conference pointed out that international negotiations on climate change, as part of their initial phase, must emphasise the design of mechanisms that support and promote the initiatives of developing countries, especially those in the Caribbean region.

These mechanisms, he understands, will help face the negative effects of climate change and not spare efforts in the application of clean technologies.

De Boer stated that Latin American and Caribbean countries will decidedly contribute to designing an international mechanism for climate change after 2012, and that they will stand out among the countries that will benefit the most from it.

De Boer spoke before the ministers who participated in the XVI Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from January 30th to February 1st, and organised by the Dominican Secretariat of the Environment and the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC).

The UN Representative suggested taking advantage of the experiences of the carbon market, particularly of clean development mechanisms, which he said, support sustainable development and adaptation in developing countries.

“In order to face climate change, we need an intelligence financial architecture, a plan that will promote worldwide an ecological growth with low levels of carbon emissions and further adaptation, especially in developing countries,” he said.

Latin America ant the Caribbean lose Forests but increase their protected areas

Latin America and the Caribbean have fewer forests, but more protected areas despite the fact that the amount of land dedicated to agriculture has increased as well. This is one of the indicators outlined in a report drafted by the XVI Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held in Santo Domingo from January 27th to February 1st.

The region has experienced sustainable economic growth during the last five years, and in 2008, the trend is expected to continue. Such improvement, however, is not proportionally reflected on environmental matters, according to the report. Only some institutional achievements and some partial progress allow some degree of optimism. For instance, the land and maritime surfaces of protected natural areas increased between 2000 and 2005 and went from representing 19.2 percent to 20.6 percent of the territory in the region for the former and from 1.72 percent to 2.10 percent, for the latter.

However, Ricardo Sanchez, the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said that the increase in the sea level points to a recession of beaches and the disappearance of coral reefs.

According to the report, “between 2000 and 2005, 65 out of 100 hectares lost in the world corresponded to the region.” Another example of deterioration is the fact that “per capita water availability has trended downward due both to the increase in population and the increase in per capita consumption. Comparing per capita water availability, in 2005 most countries had less than half the water available per capita in 1960,” the document states.

In addition, “in most countries in the region, less than 20 percent of urban waste waters are treated. Only one-fourth of the countries in the region treat more than 50 percent of their waste waters.” Speaking of waste, statistics show that municipalities in the area by the end of this decade will have generated 25 more million tons of garbage than they did in 2000, an information linked to the fact that “the urban population of Latin America and the Caribbean already represents 78 percent of the total population, the highest urbanisation index in the continent.”

The report concludes that “as a whole, the forces of change and pressure continued failing to favour environmental sustainability and in some cases, even more negative than in previous decades.”

Latin America and The Caribbean Report Deforestation Record, lose 4.7 Million Hectares of Forests a Year

Latin America and the Caribbean each year lose 4.7 million hectares of forestland, said the consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Enrique Provencio, who alerted about the negative progress of deforestation in this region, during the Forum of Ministers of the Environment.

“This region experiences 65 percent of the world’s deforestation and in the recent years it has lost its forested areas at an average annual rate of 0.5 percent, which entails a quicker rate than in the 1990s, when the situation was not of so much concern,” the expert said.

Provencio, who was the coordinator of the report on the Assessment of the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC), a document that was presented in this event.

Climate change, the reduction of polluting emissions, efficient energy use and the cleansing and proper drainage of wastewater, territorial order, and human settlements are some of the issues being discussed at this forum, which will gather ministers of 16 countries beginning tomorrow.

The environmental deterioration being suffered by the region places it in a “very critical situation,” Provencio stated, adding that it is urgent to increase the funds allocated to environmental conservation.

“We need to go much farther than 0.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is invested in the environment,” especially if we take into account that developed countries together invest more than 1.5 percent of their GDP, Provencio maintained.

He also alerted about other evils that affect the planet, such as the reduction in per capita water availability, overharvesting, and the advance of coastal and atmospheric pollution. The latter has been augmented by the increase in the number of vehicles.

Along with this, he mentioned the stagnation in the area of development of various types of energy, such as hydroelectric, solar, and mass energies.

Regarding the population, he warned about its growth in coastal zones and its vulnerability to disasters triggered by weather phenomena.

In addition, he emphasised one aspect that he deemed “particularly serious,” - the fact that the population most exposed to the impacts of global change in Latin America and the Caribbean is the one located around the Caribbean basin, in particular the residents of the small island states.

On the other hand, the UNEP advisor emphasized that certain achievements and advances have been made in the environmental sector, including improvements in conservation systems, the reduction in the use of ozone depleting substances, and the improvement in environmental administration and environmental policies.

To that, he added that there has been an increase in the amount of protected land in the region bringing the total up to about 20 percent, and the current existence of a better information and assessment system, as well as “significance progress” on education, citizen participation, and environmental information.

Civil Society Ask Ministers to include Climate Change in their Countries Budgets

The representatives of civil society who attended the Forum of the Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean asked the environmental authorities of the region to include in the national budgets of their countries allotments to finance actions to face climate change. Such statements were made at a press conference offered by the delegate of Latin American and the Caribbean Civil Society, Sandro Chavez, the representative of the Andean region; Carlos Gomez (Mexico), President of the Civil Society; Cecilia Iglesias (Argentina), Southern Cone Representative; and Adriana Valenzuela from Colombia.

“The issue of financing climate change has to do with the redesign of our national budgets,” Chavez said. He also affirmed that with the reduced budgets of the countries in the region, they will be unable to successfully face the challenges of mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change.

“Our local and regional governments have to make decisions in order to incorporate the environmental issue into the projects that are going to be implemented.”

Mexican Carlos Gomez warned that as long as the environmental issue is not cross-cutting in government decisions, there will be few resources.

“In the agenda of each nation, we have to prioritise far-reaching environmental issues, because if the Minister of the Environment is not supported by the Ministry of Finance to create economic instruments, he is not working in close coordination with the Ministry of Economy to develop productive projects of low environmental impact or if he is not associated to the Ministry of Education to create environmental education programs, then there will be few resources.”

He also said that the Ministers of the Environment are the ones who have the fewest economic resources in the region.
Carlos Gomez opened the session of the Forum of Ministers on Thursday, January 31st, with a document on the concerns of civil society addressed to the ministers, demanding from them to ask industrialised countries to “accept the weight of their compensatory measures.”

“With regard to the financing to face climate change, we stress the importance of having international community apply the principle of common, yet differentiated responsibility.”

LAC Civil Society Presiden visits the Regional Office

Carlos Gomez Flores, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Civil Society, recently paid a courtesy visit to the UNEP Regional Director, Ricardo Sanchez Sosa. Gomez, who was elected by the delegates of the Regional Forum held in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, last October, comes from the nongovernmental organisation “Mundo Sostenible” from this northern Mexican city.

The Regional Director, Ricardo Sanchez Sosa, and Gomez discussed civil society’s participation in the Forum of Ministers of the Environment in the Dominican Republic and the Global Forum in Monaco.

They also discussed some initiatives to be developed along with industrial organisations in Mexico, such as training workshops for journalists, as well as cultural activities in Monterrey and the possibility of holding subregional forums with indigenous organisations from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Integrated Water Resources Management Project of Lake Titicaca

In mid-December, officers of the Regional Office and consultants carried out a mission in Peru and Bolivia within the framework of the Integrated Water Resources Management Project of Lake Titicaca, Desaguadero River, Poopo Lake, and the Coipasa Salt Marshes System (TDPS System).

The objective of the Project is to assess and update the level of discharges by pollutants and establish restoration programmes along the Lake Titicaca basin.

The work meetings were held with the government and other binational parties. A tour around the lake, where pressure activities are taking place, was taken too. A map of the routes was agreed upon along with the national focal points and the Binational Authorities of the lake.

Apell Project in Peru

An implementation mission was carried out by the Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) established in Paris and the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean between January 7th and January 8th, 2008, in order to reassess and strengthen the launching of the APELL Project in Peru.  

The mission, made up of 3 UNEP representatives, met with delegates of Peru’s National Environment Commission, CONAM, and more than 30 delegates from various public and private institutions and members of chemical groups of the CONAM.

Among these organisations, there were representatives from the National Industries Association; the Industrial Association for Petroleum, Energy, and Mines; the Ministry of Economy; the Ministry of Transportation; health authorities; and the Catholic University.

An assessment on the shipment of chemicals for the Peruvian Mining Industry was presented in this meeting by Mr. Ian Moscoso. There was also a meeting with the Cerro Verde mining company, a company interested in the implementation of the APELL Project in its installations.

Finally, the mission met with the president of the CONAM, Manuel Bernales, who stressed the government’s interest in the Project by calling on an opening and conclusion of the Project in a short time, because it is extremely urgent for the environment and for a safe management of the country’s most important industry.

Nicaragua Meeting of Ozone Officials from Latin America

A meeting of Ozone officials from various Latin American countries was held in Managua, Nicaragua, from December 16th to December 20th to prepare the 2008 Regional Work Action Plan.

Experts discussed the need to appoint a personalised focal point in order to strengthen the network, as well as the significance of gathering information on systems and structures for the control of the trade of substances that harm the ozone layer. In this regard, an immediate step was taken to regulate the use of existing plans drafted by the UNEP / ROLAC / PAC for each country as a basic tool for its later development.

Training for Customs Officials

San Pedro Sula was the site for the training of 20 customs officials from the Dominican Republic, Panama, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

At the event, it was agreed to promote cooperation among regional organisations, such as customs institutions, the Regional Liaison Office, INTERPOL, and the UNEP, which will ease information exchange, particularly on potentially illegal shipments.

Meeting on Methyl Bromide

A meeting was held in San Diego, United States, in order to assess the achievements of the implementation of Methyl Bromide projects in western Asia, as well as the progress made on the elimination of methyl bromide in the region.

The meeting enabled the creation of a platform, for everyone to be able to share specific experiences on the implementation of methyl bromide alternatives applied in the western Asian region. Jose de Mesa, Methyl Bromide Official, attended the meeting on behalf of the Regional Office.

Peru Solid Waste Management

A meeting was held with representatives of Peru’s National Environment Commission, CONAM, and authorities of the Region of Lima in order to assess the guidelines for the preparation of a draft of the solid waste management Project in the region, focusing on prevention and minimisation.

During the event the authorities showed strong interest in working on the waste problem, specifically in the area defined for the Northern Corridor of this region, comprised of the three main provinces (Barranca, Huaura y Huaraz).

The Project will be drafted in cooperation with the UNEP / ROLAC and DTIE Paris, in addition to CONAM officials, local authorities, the CooperAction nongovernmental organisation, and FONAM Peru.

Upcomin Activities

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• January 24 at the College of Mexico, Mexico City
  Seminar organised by DEWA "Back to Our Common Future"
• January 21-24, 2008, Bahrain
  Project on Gender, Poverty, and Environment (GPEP) Training at Bahrain
• January 27 to February 1, 2008. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean
• February 13-14, 2008 Lima, Peru
  Meeting of Environmental Justice in the Andean Subregion
• January 17-18, 2008. Santiago, Chile
  TUNZA Southern Cone Subregional Meeting
• Third week of February Spanish-Speaking Meso-America and Caribbean Sub-regional Meeting, San Jose, Costa Rica.