Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: TRENDS, PROGRESS, AND CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION, MINING, TRANSPORT, CHEMICALS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT Report to the eighteenth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations ECLAC is grateful for the contributions of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) and the countries of the region for the information provided in their national reports. ECLAC also wishes to thank the country delegates, the representatives of international organizations and the representative of the major groups that contributed to this document with their comments and contributions during the Third Regional Implementation Forum on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (La Antigua, Guatemala, 26-27 November 2009). The opinions expressed in this document are the exclusive responsibility of the authors and may not reflect the opinions of the Organization. United Nations publication LC/R.2161 Copyright © United Nations, April 2010. All rights reserved Printed in Santiago, Chile - United Nations Contents I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 5 II. Sustainable consumption and production........................................8 A. Introduction..................................................................................8 B. The path towards sustainable consumption and production in Latin America and the Caribbean.........................9 C. National and regional programmes on sustainable consumption and production.....................................................12 D. Main challenges and policy options for progress towards sustainable consumption and production in the region...........21 Bibliography....................................................................................... 25 III. Mining................................................................................................26 A. Introduction................................................................................26 B. The importance of mining in Latin America and the Caribbean ............................................................................. 27 C. Mining and sustainable development....................................... 29 Bibliography.......................................................................................44 IV. Transport...........................................................................................46 A. Introduction................................................................................46 B. Description of the sector ........................................................... 47 C. Transportation and sustainable development .........................54 Bibliography.......................................................................................66 V. Chemicals...........................................................................................68 A. Introduction................................................................................68 3 B. The strategic approach to international chemicals management ..............................................................................70 C. Ratification and implementation of international conventions: Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm ....................... 73 D. Production of consistent and integrated data: Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) ..................83 E. Implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals .................................84 F. Promoting partnerships for collaboration and participation among stakeholders ............................................85 G. Reducing the risks associated with heavy metals ....................89 H. Reduction of emissions of ozone depleting substances (ODS)........................................................................91 I. Regional challenges ...................................................................93 Bibliography.......................................................................................97 VI. Waste ............................................................................................... 100 A. Description of waste management in the region................... 100 B. Environmental problems associated with solid waste generation and disposal................................................ 108 C. Progress, obstacles and best practices.................................... 110 D. Conclusions................................................................................ 117 Bibliography...................................................................................... 119 Annex 1 - Latin America and the Caribbean: proposal for the ten-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production ................................................123 4 I. INTRODUCTION The first version of this report was prepared by the Division for Sustainable Development and Human Settlements of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to guide discussion during the Regional Implementation Forum on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean held on 26 and 27 November 2009 in La Antigua, Guatemala, in preparation for the eighteenth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). The results of that forum, in addition to specific comments made on this document by member countries, have been included in this final version. This report covers the main issues to be addressed during the session: sustainable consumption and production as a guiding paradigm for development; mining, as an activity of great importance to many of the region’s economies, with heavy impact on environmental sustainability; transport, which is undergoing significant change that has contradictory effects on sustainability, primarily in urban areas; chemicals, which, owing to Latin America’s large agriculture production, represent a diffuse, albeit serious, problem; and, lastly, solid waste, a topic around which many important activities are taking place in the region that need to be publicized and promoted, but which continue to generate persistent and multifaceted problems for social and environmental sustainability. This report relies, among other sources, on information in national reports to the CSD. This information was incorporated into the report as documents were made available. This document emphasizes progress made by the countries of the region, but it also points out persistent barriers that keep some of the most sustainable options for addressing the issues from being properly developed. There are many more challenges than achievements, but this report has sought to point out some of the best practices that countries have adopted and that might point to the way to successfully move towards sustainability. During the Forum, participants stressed the cross-cutting nature of sustainable consumption and production, a broad area that has strong and obvious links with the other issues discussed. That is also the case of chemicals and waste management, both interrelated issues that affect the sustainability of mining and transport. Despite the diversity of thematic areas, the following common challenges (cross-cutting issues) were identified during the Forum: • Information, education and awareness. Progress in any of the thematic areas requires efforts to produce relevant information and knowledge, making that information accessible and increasing public awareness and training. It is crucial to invest in quantification of the cost of environmental and social problems caused by certain activities, such as mining in certain areas, or by inaction —for example, exposure of persons to toxic chemicals— in order to ensure that those issues are adequately taken into account in public policy. 5 During the Forum, participants referred to the importance of making efforts towards sustainability, of recovering traditional values and knowledge and of critically evaluating foreign models so as to avoid copying those that are incompatible with the region’s needs and resources. • Building State capacity. In addition to recognizing the importance of multiple actors in dealing with each thematic area, participants stressed the need to reinforce the capacity of States to provide follow-up, monitor, manage and negotiate with other countries and companies. Many countries still suffer from the contraction and weakening of government structures that occurred in recent decades, the effects of which are felt at both the national level and the subnational and municipal levels. • The potential for public-private partnerships and the participation of multiple actors. Public-private cooperation plays a key role in moving toward sustainable development. Partnerships are crucial to transforming policy goals and legal instruments into concrete action; to transferring technology; to developing productive links between extractive activities and local economies; and to ensuring financing for critical issues related to corporate
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