Sustainable Agriculture and Forests
The Santa Cruz Summit considered the
unsustainability of current agricultural processes one of the most
serious problems in the region. The rural sector suffers from
widespread poverty, the lack of adequate techniques and know-how
among farmers and their need to foster short-term economic benefits
have exacerbated problems in soil erosion, desertification and other
harmful effects to the environment.
At the same time, the Western Hemisphere has the
largest forest cover on the planet and contains a major share of the
world's biodiversity. This wealth, however, is greatly threatened by
acute deforestation and forest degradation. In response to this, the
Bolivian Summit mandated several initiatives towards the sustainable
use and management of the region's biodiversity.
Sustainable Agriculture
Actions in the area of sustainable agriculture
since the Summit have been the following:
- Improvements have been made with the use of agrochemical
products at the global, regional, national and local levels.
Uruguay, Costa Rica and Ecuador made notable advances in
reducing the intensity of the use of chemical products in
agriculture and in promoting campaigns against specific pests
and diseases.
- There has been continued work in the research and conservation
of genetic resources through diversification and wildlife
programs in the rural areas of Central and South America and the
Caribbean. Mexico, for example, has implemented a program
entitled, "Productive Diversification and Wildlife in the
Rural Sector," which has received the support, along with
other such projects, of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), the Tropical Agronomic Research and Teaching Center (CATIE)
and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture
(IICA).
- In an effort to connect agrarian research and ecosystem
conservation, Canada has researched new strains of crops and
trees that promote biodiversity and bring benefits such as
disease resistance, more efficient use of nutrients and
sequestration of carbon-dioxide.
- Paraguay has taken advantage of an innovative approach to
increasing agricultural exports by developing ecotourism on
individual farms and ranches.
- Central America, with the help of IICA, has established
agricultural exchange centers with electronic information
systems that bring training, extension and support for
commercialization closer to the farmer. Along with this,
Argentina has promoted cultivating crops which have
environmental benefits and the Caribbean has supported cleaner
agroindustrial processes.
- Several countries have encouraged their local communities and
rural organizations to promote conservation and sustainable and
equitable agriculture: Bolivia established equal opportunity
programs for women in rural community development to help them
assume more active decision-making roles; Argentina is promoting
the consolidation of associative groups of producers; Colombia
has a Rural Home Program that supports low-income families in
rural communities; Paraguay offers local leaders training in
soil management; Peru provides small producers with access to
fertilizer and certified seed for their principal crops; and
Uruguay provides support for integrated pest control and crop
diversification.
- Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic and
Saint Lucia incorporated agrarian reform into comprehensive
programs of regional or rural development, poverty alleviation
or agroindustrial reform.
Sustainable Forestry
Issues of sustainable forestry have been
addressed in the following areas:
- Governments in the region participated actively in the
deliberations and between-meeting activities organized by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Forests (IPF), which was co-chaired by Colombia.
- As recommended by the Santa Cruz Summit, the International
Program of Model Forests was strengthened to promote the sharing
of local experiences, know-how and technology. Representatives
from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica and the United States
attended the First International Forum of the Network of Model
Forests, which took place in Mexico in 1997.
- Countries are participating in international efforts to define
and implement criteria and indicators for the sustainable
management of forests. In January, 1997, a process began which
is working to define criteria and indicators for the seven
countries belonging to the Central American Commission for
Environment and Development.
- In 1997, the ninth meeting of the Montreal Initiative took
place. Forty-five countries, including Argentina, Canada, Chile,
Mexico, the United States and Uruguay, attended this meeting.
Biodiversity Conservation
The following has been done to fulfill this
biodiversity initiative:
- Many countries in the region, including the Andean countries,
Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico, have adopted national
biodiversity strategies which will strengthen their research and
development capacity in the field of biological resources and
introduce legislation on access to genetic resources.
- Protected cross-border areas and regional strategies for
preservation and sustainable use of Amazonian natural resources
have been identified and established. Examples of this include
the Fund for Biodiversity in Brazil, conservation of
biodiversity and sustainable development in the conservation
areas of La Amistad and La Osa in Costa Rica, and the programs
of protected areas in Mexico and Guyana.
- The First Latin American Congress on National Parks and Other
Protected Areas, which took place in Santa Marta, Colombia, in
1997, underlined the importance of the approved Bolivian Summit
initiatives and the close relationship between biodiversity
preservation and national park management. It also highlighted
the role of the OAS as a forum to advance the implementation of
the diverse recommendations emanating from the Congress,
especially those related to biodiversity.
- In September, 1998, the Inter-American
Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) was created as a
result of an international conference hosted by Brazil and the
coordination of two Meetings of Experts, which were convened by
the OAS, to help inform countries of the initiative.
- Projects have also emerged, with the financial help of the Global
Environmental Facility (GEF), for the protection of
biodiversity: consolidation and implementation of the program
for management of the coastal area of Patagonia to preserve its
biodiversity; protection and sustainable use of the biological
diversity of the bio-geographical Chocó in Colombia;
preservation of biodiversity in the Lake Titicaca watershed; and
the integrated project for the protection of biodiversity in the
Sartsún-Montagua region of Guatemala. The World Bank and the
IDB have also co-financed various projects in Latin America and
the Caribbean.
Obstacles
Obstacles that deter progress in sustaining and
preserving our region's forestry and agriculture include the
following:
- Insufficient international and national funds, human
resources, and infrastructure for research and technology
transfer;
- Protracted legislation;
- Serious weaknesses in institutional and policy framework must
be overcome in order to strengthen genetic resource measures for
valuing the rich heritage that the Americas possess;
- Limits to deforestation and forest degradation must be sought
through firm political commitments that encourage community
participation in decision-making processes, a technique which
has gained substantial ground throughout the Americas;
- Differences between developed and developing countries
regarding the interpretation of certain agreements in the
Convention on Biodiversity has hindered implementation.
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