The
environmental problems that besiege Latin American and Caribbean countries
are worse today than when the United Nations Conference on the Environment
and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Now,
as then, the impacts of human activities on nature are rooted in poverty
and underdevelopment, maintains Ricardo Sánchez, director of the United
Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) for Latin America and the Caribbean.
This is the scenario leading up to Rio+10, the summit to be held either
in South Africa or Indonesia, and preparations are already underway
to measure progress on the commitments made almost a decade ago for
halting the global environmental crisis. Civil society has become
increasingly involved in efforts to achieve an ecologically sustainable
and socially equitable economy, based on the principles arising out
of the 1992 Earth Summit, which brought together heads of state from
172 nations, says Sánchez.
-TIERRAMERICA:
Is 10 years a long enough period for the Earth Summit to have had
an impact?
-SANCHEZ: When talking about sustainable
development, 10 years is little time to achieve the goals laid out
in Rio. Although since then institutions in Latin American countries
have grown stronger - creating more solid state agencies and raising
the population's awareness about ecological issues - there could
have been much more progress made in reversing the region's environmental
problems.
- What are the results of the
seeds planted in Rio?
- After the summit there were higher levels
of activity evident, for example, in the creation of environmental
ministries. The notable growth in the legislative arena can be seen
in the truly positive laws passed for punishing environmental crimes.
The creation of legal instruments has allowed follow-up on ecological
issues and has been the driving force behind the implementation
of international accords.
In these past years the perception has been reinforced that achieving
an integrated environmental and development policy requires the
joint efforts of all social actors. There are increasingly more
business groups interested in creating economic growth that is in
harmony with the environment.
- What is UNEP's perception of concerns
that economic and social trends denounced in Rio as the causal factors
behind environmental degradation are still in force?
- The region's economy continues to depend
intensely on its natural resources, which impedes the reversal of
the environmental degradation process. These problems in Latin America
and the Caribbean are worse now than when the Earth Summit took
place. Nearly 10 years later, deterioration of the soil, contamination
of water, damage to marine and coastal ecosystems demonstrate the
extent of environmental destruction in the region. Every year an
average of six million hectares of forests are lost and another
250 million hectares of farmland are degraded, while just two percent
of the water supplies are adequately treated and people are living
in increasingly unhealthy urban environments.
The environmental factor was not adequately included in our countries'
development projects. This has resulted in deepening levels of poverty,
which is the primary element in slowing progress toward sustainable
development. The rate of poverty growth was not reversed in the
last decade. More than 224 million poor people are proof that inequality
prevails in the hemisphere. The situation could have been different
if there had been a decisive implementation of the environmental
and sustainable development concepts in the governments' policies.
The mobilization of society is fundamental for achieving sustainable
development, guiding the countries toward political and economic
platforms that make respect for the environment and poverty eradication
top priorities.
- What is the outlook for the region
as far as the Rio+10 conference - where the world community will
evaluate government efforts to preserve the environment and allow
people to exercise their right to development?
-This phase of 10 years after the Rio
Summit permits an invaluable examination of the situation, which
also requires a great deal of creativity in the search for solutions
based on shared responsibility.
The UN provides forums for discussion to build
consensus and develop reasonable solutions for all countries. In
this sense, it is vital to implement the Kyoto Protocol, the subject
of much debate since it was signed in 1997, about controlling the
gas emissions that are responsible for the greenhouse effect and
global warming.
This protocol, which takes effect in 2002, is the center of a heated
controversy between rich and poor nations, and an important point
in the process of establishing positions prior to the conference
to be held at The Hague at the end of the year. In August, the UN
is sponsoring a meeting in Brazil that could prove vital for putting
each country's criteria on the table.
- What is the status of the global
debate about Rio+10?
- With its instructions to promote consensus
and define goals, the UNEP will participate in the evaluation of
compliance with Agenda 21, which is the global program for governments
to restore habitat and pursue social development.
In the search for fundamental and global norms on ecological issues,
the Malmö Declaration, signed last May in the Swedish city by more
than 100 environmental ministers from as many countries, defined
a sustainable development agenda for the 21st century.
The Rio+10 process is generating great opportunities in which the
private sector plays a leading role and from which civil society
can identify the priorities for compliance with Agenda 21.
In the international context, the 2002 conference - to be held in
South Africa or Indonesia - promotes a broad discussion of economic
globalization, which prioritizes profits, and its effects on people's
quality of life. The world is approaching Rio+10 with the certainty
that development in harmony with the environment will allow the
creation of societies that are more balanced and just.
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