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GAVIRIA URGES INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The international community must find innovative institutional and financial mechanisms "to really move forward the discussion, policy and work on sustainable development," says Secretary General of the Organization of American States, César Gaviria.

Opening the Third Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee for Sustainable Development today, the Secretary General remarked that since the Earth Summit ten years ago, "we clearly have been more successful making institutional linkages than in securing funding to set them in motion."

He noted that although the Americas had blazed a trail by adopting principles for public participation in decision-making, "a lot remains to be done before decision-making on sustainable development can become a truly transparent process." Gaviria observed that efforts coming out of the 1996 Bolivia Summit, towards a hemispheric agenda on sustainable development, have lost momentum. "Sectoral agencies are constantly getting new mandates without a clear-cut coordination mechanism, and that is not a good sign."

Gaviria stressed the need for realistic priorities. He noted as well that the meeting would help set an agenda not only on specific measures the OAS should adopt but also on how it relates with government institutions. He said "such an inter-sectoral, integrated approach to the regional agenda on sustainable development is what the Hemisphere, through the OAS, can contribute towards sustainable development at the global level."

The meeting, which ends Tuesday, has brought together delegations from OAS member as well as representatives of other international organizations. The agenda covers such topics as health and education, sustainable agriculture and forestry, sustainable cities and communities, water resources and coastal areas, as well as energy and minerals.

Participants are also reviewing progress since the Bolivia Summit, in implementing the hemispheric agenda on sustainable development. They will also consider Western Hemisphere proposals for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, slated for Johannesburg next September.

The deliberations began with the election of Honduran Ambassador to the OAS Laura Elena Nuñez by acclamation to chair the Inter-American Committee for Sustainable Development. The Alternate Representative of Barbados, Lisa Cummins, and the Alternate Representative of Argentina, Mauricio Alice, were elected as vice chairs.

Ambassador Nuñez reaffirmed her government's support for the activities and initiatives being undertaken in the area of sustainable development and recalled that during his recent inauguration Honduran President Ricardo Maduro signed the Declaration of Copán, reaffirming Honduras’ commitment to promote economic development that is fair and balanced, environmental protection, tourism and sustainable development, as well as pursue a war on poverty and terrorism.

Conference participants include Costa Rica's First Vice President, Astrid Fischel Volio; Colombia's Health Minister Gabriel Ernesto Riveros; the Dominican Republic's Secretary of State for Agriculture, Eligio Jáquez, and Secretary of State for Environment, Frank Moya Pons; and Brazil's Interim Minister of State for the Environment, José Carlos Carvalho. Also participating are the Dominican Republic's Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Rosa Aybar de los Santos; Edgar González Gaudiano, Advisor to Mexico's Secretary of Education; and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Director-General Chelston Brathwaite.

Reference: E-028/02