QUARTERLY REPORT OF ACTIVITIES

(July-September 1998)

INTRODUCTION

This report, which covers the third quarter of 1998, presents the activities conducted by the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment (USDE) within the framework of the Program of Activities for 1998, which is based on the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development. The information is presented in accordance with the following four categories: support to organs of the OAS, support for other offices of the Organization, partnership for development activities, and the exchange of information. The text is followed by a table that compares, for each project, the financial resources of the entire project, the amount programmed for 1998, the sum executed during the third quarter of the year, and the cumulative execution. 

In relation to the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development

Activities continued on the execution of the project Coordination and Follow-up of the Santa Cruz Plan of Action and the Execution of Activities under the Inter-American Program of Sustainable Development in Support of Chapter II of the Plan of Action of Santa Cruz.

In the project for the establishment of a hemisphere-wide network of officials and experts on environmental law, progress was made on the preparation of the report on the consultation with experts at the technical meeting held at the North-South Center of the University of Miami on May 21 and 22, and also on the preparation of the blueprint for the network.

• Work continued on preparations for the technical meeting on ways to strengthen public and private financing for sustainable development to be held on October 30. Six papers were being prepared for presentation at the meeting.

• In July work began on the demonstration projects for the Inter-American Strategy for Public Participation (ISP), one of its most important components. In particular, the planning project for the restoration of Ferrol Bay in Peru began with the formation of the working group and the technical support committees. Formal cooperation arrangements were made between the National Environmental Commission (CONAM), the national executing agency, and various local participants, such as universities, environmental organizations, and industry, setting the stage for joint efforts throughout the project.

• From August 29 to September 1, Jamaica hosted the Second Meeting of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC). Thirty-six people took part in this meeting, including the director of the USDE; representatives of the Office of Summit Follow-up, of the Unit for Social Development and Education, of the Government of Jamaica, and of the Government of Denmark; members of the PAC from governments and from civil society and donor organizations; ISP technical advisers; and a number of observers from international organizations.

• Discussions focused on topics of importance to effective project implementation and steps to be taken in the future. These topics included progress in executing the various components of the ISP; fulfillment of the mandates of the Second Summit of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile; more active participation in the ISP by the Governments of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic as coordinators for public participation matters at the Summits; cooperation and coordination among the various sections of the GS/OAS in executing the international trade and education mandates; and how the PAC might be more active in the ISP. Lastly, the participants studied the Danish Government's experience in drafting and ratifying the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters as a possible model for implementation of the strategy for participation in the Americas.

• On September 10 and 11, the Technical Seminar on Participatory Methods for the Management of Biodiversity and Coastal Resources was held in Hastings, Barbados. Thirty-five government and civil society representatives from the Caribbean participated, including staff and consultants from the GS/OAS. A technical study was presented on the problems affecting coastal resources and biodiversity, along with case studies on experiences in the participatory management of these resources in Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Jamaica, which enabled the technical study and ISP objectives to be set in the Caribbean context.

• The Information and Technical Group Meeting scheduled for September was postponed until the fourth quarter of the project.

• With support from the United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Secretariat of the United Nations International Decade for the Reduction of Natural Disasters (DIRDN), the OAS has scheduled a series of three regional workshops on Sustainable Cities and Trade Corridors: Reduction of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters, Mandates, and Future Action, as part of the activities to follow up on the Bolivia Summit. One of the workshops took place in Mendoza, Argentina (September 17 and 18). The others will be held in Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia (October 15), and San José, Costa Rica (October 27 and 28). The OAS, in collaboration with the World Bank, PAHO, the DIRDN Secretariat, the Network of Social Studies on the Prevention of Disasters in Latin America and other institutions, has announced the holding of the Second Inter-American Dialogue for the Reduction of Disasters (Dialogue II) on December 15 and 16, 1998, in Washington D.C., at the World Bank and OAS. The agenda will include the drafting of recommendations to incorporate the reduction of vulnerability of the economic and social infrastructure to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other natural dangers arising in the day-to-day activities of regional and national development.

• In coordination with the World Bank, the IDB, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), and the Pan American Highway Institute (IPC), the OAS is completing its work on the draft of the document "Hemispheric Plan for the Guide to Environmental Management of the Highway Transportation System" for the third meeting of the Latin American Society of Highway Environmental Systems (SLUAV), which will take place in Florianópolis, Brazil, from November 29 to December 4, 1998. The OAS is coordinating the activities to complete the document and has asked for comments from more than 400 professionals in the Hemisphere.

• With assistance from the DIRDN Secretariat and Partners of the Americas, the OAS presented a Virtual Conference on Implementation of the Hemispheric Plan for the Reduction of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters in the Education Sector, on October 19 to 24. Participants presented and discussed recommendations on new activities for the reduction of vulnerability to disasters in the sector.

• A meeting of the Interagency Task Force Group on Bolivia Summit Follow-up was held on September 4. The Task Force has the following participants: the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), PAHO, the Inter-American Institute on Cooperation for Agriculture (IICA), the World Bank, the IDB, the CAF, the United Nations Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The meeting reviewed the progress of the six working groups of the Task Force, two of which have completed their assignments. The progress recorded was as follows:

- The Working Group on Cleaner Production, chaired by UNEP, helped to organize the August 17-19 "Cleaner Production Conference of the Americas: Building a Roundtable for Hemispheric Cooperation," which was held in Sao Paulo. This was a major meeting, with costs in excess of $250,000, and involved a partnership of UNEP, USEPA, USAID, the IDB and the OAS in support of the Government of Brazil. A copy of the draft report of the meeting was circulated to Task Force members. The working group is expected in the future to concentrate on issues of cleaner production in the hospital sector.

- The Working Group on Coordination of Technical Cooperation for Improving Access to and Quality of Drinking Water, chaired by PAHO and involving a partnership of the IDB, the World Bank, the OAS, USAID, UNICEF, and the Inter-American Association of Sanitary Engineers (AIDIS), has launched a comprehensive program of cooperation in support of the implementation of Initiative 47 of the Santa Cruz Summit. Four task groups have been formed within this working group, to deal with Policies and Standards, Pollution Technologies, Surveillance of Drinking Water and Promotion of Community Participation. The outputs of these groups will be evaluated at the October 1-2 meeting of the collaborating institutions. PAHO has published the Plan of Action for Improving Access and Quality of Drinking Water, which was circulated to all task-force members. The OAS and PAHO are discussing the holding of a ministerial-level meeting on water and health in 1999 or 2000. Plans for this event will be considered at the Third Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management to be held from March 21 to 25, 1999, in Panama.

- The Working Group on Sustainable Cities and Communities, chaired by the World Bank, has completed its assignment, with the publication of "Sustainable Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean: Best Practices and Emerging Issues for Action." This report is a product of a meeting held at the World Bank on February 4 and 5, 1998, which involved the collaboration of several organizations including the OAS, the IDB, the World Bank and USAID.

- The Working Group on Cooperation on a Model Project of Energy Infrastructure, chaired by CAF, has likewise completed its assignment, with the preparation of a case study entitled: "The Bolivia-Brazil Regional Integration Pipeline: An Example of How International Financing Agencies Have Coordinated under the Principles of Sustainable Development." This $2.15 billion pipeline investment project involves co-financing of the World Bank, the IDB, and CAF along with federal, state, and private-sector entities in Brazil and Bolivia. The draft case study was circulated to Task Force members in early 1998.

- The Working Group on Establishment of a Hemispheric Network on Environmental Law, chaired by the OAS, reported on a network consultation meeting held on May 21 and 22 in Miami that involved broad stakeholder participation. Key principles for the network and its structure, membership, and financing were discussed. A comprehensive report of the meeting is expected in the near future. UNDP, UNEP, and USEPA are supporting the efforts of this working group.

- The Working Group on Innovative Financing for Sustainable Development, chaired by the IDB, reported that a consultant’s report on innovative financing for biodiversity conservation is nearing completion and a workshop will be held later this year that will involve IBRD, USAID, CAF, the OAS and other agencies.

The Task Force next considered the proposal of the OAS and the World Bank to create a new working group on Natural Hazard Vulnerability Reduction in Development. This idea was favorably received and it was agreed that the initial participants in the group would be the World Bank, the IDB, USAID, and PAHO, with other agencies urged to join in addressing this very important and topical issue. The OAS will initially chair the Working Group.

In discussing future directions of the Interagency Task Force, there was general agreement on the usefulness of the effort and recognition of the concrete products that have been obtained so far. It was noted that the Presidential Summit in Santiago earlier this year called upon the agencies of the inter-American and United Nations systems to reinforce their cooperation in the implementation of the Santa Cruz Plan of Action.

2. SUPPORT TO OTHER OFFICES OF THE ORGANIZATION

Coordination was maintained with other units and offices of the General Secretariat in carrying out the activities assumed by the OAS in follow-up of the Plan of Action of Santa Cruz.

Cooperation was extended to other units and offices in the preparation of an initial estimate of the costs of compliance with the mandates from the Chilean Summit, and to the Department of Fellowships in the selection of fellowship recipients for courses in fields related to sustainable development and the environment.

 3. PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

• In the Project for the Sustainable Development of Border Areas in South America, development plans for the Colombia-Peru and Brazil-Peru binational programs were finalized, as was the integrated regional diagnosis of the Bolivia-Peru Program. Work continued on the development of the plan for the restoration of degraded areas of the Quino River Basin (third phase of the Study on Ecological and Economic Zoning and Land-Use Planning of the Brazil-Venezuela Program) and on environmental zoning studies for the binational area of the Bolivia-Peru Program, the Colombian area of the Colombia-Brazil Program, and the Brazilian area of the Brazil-Peru Program. To complement these activities, action was taken with regard to the financial management of binational projects included in the Colombia-Peru and Brazil-Peru programs, for which the pre-investment stage has been completed.

• In the Project for the Sustainable Development of Border Areas in the Central American Isthmus, continued cooperation was provided through the following modules:

Gulf of Honduras. The work centered on revision of the final document of the Plan of Global Action and Implementation Strategy and on consultation with governments concerning it. Support continued to be provided to those responsible for public participation and follow-up of the Plan of Action of the Special Binational Commission on the Project for Sustainable Tourism Development and Land-Use Management, by means of advisory services to FUNDESO members.

Assistance was provided in arranging for the funding requested from the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency (COSUDE) for the execution of the Agriculture and Forestry Project, in both the coastal zone and the Middle and Upper Chamelecón River Basin. Support was also given to the Office of the Vice President of Guatemala for financial management of the Tourism Development Project of Izabal and the Agricultural and Forestry Development Project.

San Juan River Basin. FEMCIDI funds made it possible to hold two environmental education workshops in Costa Rica and to prepare aide-mémoires of the workshops held Los Chiles, Ciudad Quesada, and San Carlos.

Work continued on the compilation of geo-referenced data on the natural resources and socioeconomic features of the Basin, conducted at the municipal level in Nicaragua and at the cantonal level in Costa Rica. At the same time, progress was made in validating and disseminating of the information already compiled.

The GEF approved Block B financing totaling $283,000 for the preparation of the Integrated Water Resource and Sustainable Development Plan for the San Juan River Basin and Its Coastal Area. UNEP is serving as the implementing agency and the GS/OAS, through the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment, as the executing agency for the project.

Costa Rica-Panama Border. Work continued on the follow-up of the Binational Sustainable Development Plan. Training workshops were held on the decentralization of sustainable development and citizen participation in it, ecotourism, integral farm management, management and protection of marine and coastal resources, management of natural resources and protected areas, etc., with active participation by the Binational Sectoral Technical Committees.

Meetings were held to plan, coordinate, and evaluate binational sectoral management in the various sectoral committees participating in the border cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Paz River Basin. Certain subbasins were identified as critical because of their social, economic, and environment problems. This ranking took place in an integrated fashion, on the basis of resource and impact parameters. As a result, 10 subbasins out of the 56 (35 in Guatemala and 21 in El Salvador) that make up the entire basin were designated for priority treatment.

Progress was made in preparing the document on comprehensive diagnosis of the Basin and in consulting on it with the national institutions participating in the project.

• The project Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) continued its activities during this period. Major progress has been made in project implementation, with all components now active, either on or ahead of schedule. All but three tidal gauges and weather-monitoring sensors have been installed (two in Guyana and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, scheduled for October and November 1998). The data from the gauges is now available through the project’s Web site (www.cpacc.org, then click on "Go to Data"). A work program and timetable was developed for the preparation of national inventories of coastal resources and their uses. Institutional arrangements in Bahamas, Belize, and Jamaica have been completed to begin execution of the coral-reef monitoring program. An evaluation of existing methodologies for coastal vulnerability and risk assessments was conducted and a new methodology has been developed for application to the particular case of the Caribbean islands. St. Vincent and the Grenadines launched its pilot component, Greenhouse Gases Inventories, with a workshop for members of its Climate Change Committee. CPACC entered into an agreement with the University of the West Indies to provide funds to establish a geographic information systems (GIS) facility at its campus in Barbados. This facility will be used for work related to CPACC products and outputs and to train personnel of CPACC counterpart institutions in GIS applications. The CPACC Project Manager has started discussions and negotiations with the University’s Strategic Planning Committee for the development of a Climate Change Center at the University. If established, this center will guarantee the sustainability of CPACC beyond the GEF funding.

• The purpose of the Environmental Management of Greater Caribbean Coastal Area, Phase II (EMCCA II) project is to assist participating countries in the region with development planning and management of coastal and marine resources. The project is entering into its final quarter, and continues to meet key objectives and to strengthen institutional coastal-zone management. During the third quarter, EMCCA II funds supported the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) in preparing a proposal for a PDF Block B grant from the GEF for freshwater resources. Consultations were held with the World Bank, UNDP, and UNEP to serve as possible GEF implementing agencies. These activities have been successful, and have strengthened OAS collaboration with other regional organizations. EMCCA II funds have also supported activities that served to follow up the Bolivia Summit Plan of Action, including preparation for the Climate Change in the Intra-Americas: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Mitigation Conference, which will be held at the Kovens Conference Center in Miami from November 29 though December 4. Its cosponsors include the OAS, the Climate Institute, the Caribbean Coastal Commission and the USEPA and the International Hurricane Center. It should be noted that EMCCA II funds also provided continued OAS counterpart support for the CPACC project.

• The Program of Strategic Action for the Brazilian Amazon (PRODEAM) was extended to June 30, 2000, at a total cost of US$5,092,498, with resources provided by the Government of Brazil. Progress continued on the preparation of the Amazon Development Plan 2000/2003 and the Information System for Regional Planning, in addition to the activities for Ecotourism Development in the Amazon Region.

• National Program for Strengthening the Water Resource Sector in Brazil. During this period, several activities were carried out under Federal Law 9435 of January 8, 1997, on water resources in Brazil. These activities include reorganization of the Secretariat for Water Resources, the establishment of the Water Authority, the development of the Plan of Objectives for 1999, and the System of Public Meetings for the Councils on Water Resources of the Brazilian states.

• The Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved the projects Integrated Management of Land Activities in the São Francisco River Basin, totaling US$4,771,000, and Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management Practices for the Pantanal and Upper Paraguay River Basin, totaling US$6,615,000. These projects may begin in early 1999 and will last two and a half years. Also, during the period, contacts were established with organizations that had submitted subprojects within the framework of the two GEF projects to begin their review and updating.

• The activities scheduled in various parts of the Program of Strategic Action for the Bermejo River Basin continued. During this period, actions particularly concerned with the transboundary diagnosis were taken; progress was made in the preparation of digital thematic maps for the Upper Basin and the study on the generation and transportation of sediment and its impact on the waterway and delta of the Paraná and Plate rivers. In addition, work was completed on the hydrosedimentological survey, the analysis of fluviomorphological dynamics, and the sociocultural topographic survey at the municipal level. With respect to pilot studies, work continued on studies on transitional forests, sustainable development of the Yungas, the removal of barriers in the humid and dry Chaco, and environmental education. In Bolivia, progress was made on the formulation of the program on the implementation of the Baritú-Tariquía Biological Corridor, the study of transboundary migration in the Upper and Lower Basin of the Bermejo River, studies on erosion control and natural resource management for the Camacho and Santa Ana river basins, and demonstration projects for sediment control in the Tolomosa River Basin. In Nairobi, Kenya, from September 22 to 24, the third meeting of the Governing Council was held. A project progress report and assessment were presented and priority activities for 1999 were defined.

3.4 Cooperation for the mitigation of natural disasters

• The OAS-USAID Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) is being carried out with a USAID grant of US$5 million and will last six years. During the third quarter of 1998, the Project continued its technical cooperation activities in the Caribbean. In September, CDMP co-sponsored the Caribbean/Central American Regional Forum on Building Codes and Economic Development, held in Puerto Rico. Participants in the forum, representing over 30 countries in the region, produced recommendations for regional collaboration in the areas of code formulation and adoption; code enforcement, education and training; and disaster-resistant affordable housing. In the Eastern Caribbean, CDMP supported a national workshop in Saint. Lucia to discuss a draft hazard mitigation plan and began the development of a national building code for Grenada. The passage of Hurricane Georges significantly affected the project countries of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. CDMP is working with project partners in these countries to assist with the incorporation of hazard-resistant measures into the recovery efforts. Further information on the CDMP is available on the Web at http://www.oas.org./en/cdmp.

• With assistance from the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), field work for the Program for Reduction of the Vulnerability of Schools to Natural Disasters in three pilot countries of the Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis) was completed. The Program is being conducted in coordination with regional institutions and with the CDMP. A workshop on Retrofitting of Vulnerable Schools and Shelters was held in September in Saint Kitts for the Caribbean countries. The options of methods and criteria for Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) project loans available for reducing vulnerability in the countries were discussed.

• With support from ECHO, Phases III of the Program on Flood Alert and Reduction of Vulnerability to Flooding in Central America was carried out in collaboration with the Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), the Regional Commission for Water Resources (CRRH) and the Central American Isthmus Federation of Municipalities (FEMCA). With national and local institutions, Phase IV of the program continued to be implemented, including regional and national workshops and a regional workshop on emergency planning.

• With funding from FEMCIDI, the USDE has undertaken the international coordination of the Project for the Reduction of Vulnerability to Natural Dangers in the MERCOSUR Transport Corridors. Training and technical national studies on the more sections of trade corridors most vulnerable to natural dangers was begun.

4. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

• The Exchange of Water Information and Technology in the Americas project continued preparations for five meetings to be held in the fourth quarter of 1998 and the first quarter of 1999: the Workshop on Integrated Water Resources Management for South America, to be held in Gramado, Brazil (October 1998); a Workshop on Water Information on the Internet in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (October 1998); meetings of the Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN) Advisory Council and Executive Committee (October 1998), the Technical Meeting of Water Experts in Washington, D.C (October 1998), and the Third Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management (March 1999). Base documents, which summarized progress made by each country in implementing water and coastal-zone initiatives adopted at the Summit for Sustainable Development, were completed and distributed for use at the Gramado meeting. The program and finance committees for the Third Dialogue met to define strategies for funding and promoting the meeting. Six thousand copies of the meeting brochure were printed.

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