Mexico City, 2 June 2015

Outstanding advances in the implementation of the Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Climate Services Centre

 Held under the framework of the IV meeting of the Ministers Council of EMSA

 Ministers of , , , , , , , and participated.

The Ministers of Environment of Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic met in Mexico for the IV meeting of the Ministers Council of the Mesoamerican Strategy for Environmental Sustainability (EMSA), chaired by Patricia Abreu Fernandez, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Dominican Republic, in her capacity as Pro Tempore President of the Mesoamerica Project.

Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, said that, as a mechanism for regional integration, the Mesoamerica project stands out for its importance and achievements in areas such as, inter alia, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, health, risk management, housing and environment.

The environmental theme is recognised as an essential component for the formation of development policies as well as a key element in sustainable development decision- making. "Few regions of the world are home to so many forms of life as the , the Mesoamerican Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world and we have almost 10% of all known life forms on the planet," he said.

EMSA is an initiative promoted under the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project, in coordination with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) with the aim of increasing and strengthening cooperation capacities on sustainable development to improve the quality of life of the region.

Insurgentes Sur 2416, piso 4, ala sur, Col. Copilco El Bajo, Del. Coyoacán, México DF, 04340 Página 1 de 2 Tel. +52 (55) 5174 4000 ext. 1083 [email protected], www.conagua.gob.mx

The Ministers of Environment entered into various agreements under this framework, such as the advances of Mexico in the implementation of the Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Climate Services Centre, which will strengthen the regional capacities on irrigation management associated with the climate change and variability.

Moreover, it was proposed to seek a global agreement in the negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that will hold its 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) on 30 November-11 December 2015 in Paris, France.

ooOoo

Insurgentes Sur 2416, piso 4, ala sur, Col. Copilco El Bajo, Del. Coyoacán, México DF, 04340 Página 2 de 2 Tel. +52 (55) 5174 4000 ext. 1083 [email protected], www.conagua.gob.mx