INTRODUCTION

This report, which covers the fourth 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 fourth 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.

Progress was made in the initiative to establish of a hemisphere-wide network of officials and experts on environmental law. 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 was completed. A presentation and discussion on the network initiative took place at the Fifth International Conference on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, held in Monterey, California, from November 16 to 20, 1998. Based on the consultations made, a blueprint for the network and its operation was prepared and sent for final observations to those who participated in its drafting. A funding proposal for the network was also prepared to obtain external funding.

The technical meeting on ways to strengthen public and private financing for sustainable development was held on October 30, in Washington, DC. Five papers dealing with sustainable development and its financing were presented at the event. Among the topics in the papers discussed were the financing of biodiversity conservation, the use of economic instruments for the improvement of environmental management and the generation of funds for sustainable development, the compliance of environmental laws and use of fines as a source of funding for projects that protect the environment, and the use of tradable carbon emission permits as a source of funds for the region. Based on the discussions during the meeting, the authors are preparing the final versions for publication and distribution.

In the fourth quarter of 1999, all three projects in the demonstration sites component of the Project for the Inter-American Strategy for Public Participation (ISP) advanced appreciably. In the co-management project in Portland Bight, Jamaica, the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (CCAM), the local NGO co-managing the Portland Bight Sustainable Development area, supported a series of community meetings to identify environmental, social and economic problems, and potential solutions. The Gulf of Honduras and Ferrol Bay, Peru, projects also moved forward, as the Foundation for Ecological Development and the Environment (FUNDAECO) and the National Council for the Environment (CONAM) both advanced government/civil society cooperation in their respective areas by such processes as joint committees and community meetings.

Three case studies (of nine expected) were delivered by the consultant undertaking the legal inventory for the legal and institutional framework component of the ISP. These case studies were: Bolivia’s Public Participation Law: An Institutional Framework for Local Decision-Making; Local and International Participation in the Case of Mexico’s Turbio River; and Access to Information through Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers: The Case of the Toxic Release Inventory Law in the United States.

In the information network component of the project, a consultant was hired in October to prepare a report on Communication and Information Guidelines for the ISP. The work entailed identifying and proposing communication tools for disseminating information from the national government to the sub-national level and increasing participation of stakeholders and interested parties in sustainable development decision and policy-making.

In the technical assistance and training component, two important seminars were held. On October 20 and 21, the ISP held the Regional Technical Seminar on Water Resource Management in Transboundary Watersheds in Montevideo, Uruguay. And on December 10 and 11 the Regional Technical Seminar on Participatory Management of Biodiversity and Coastal Resources in Meso America was held in San Salvador. Participants from relevant government agencies and civil society organizations throughout the respective regions used case studies to focus on existing problems and share their experiences with public participation the technical area of focus. Each seminar yielded recommendations for improving the consistency and effectiveness of public participation of sustainable development decisions. These recommendations will be used in drafting the Framework Strategy, which will be undertaken in 1999.

Work on the consultative fora component also moved forward, as the consultant working on the legal inventory agreed to supplement the existing report on National Councils for Sustainable Development with a legal and regulatory assessment as well as strategic recommendations to strengthen or aid in the creation of these organizations. In addition, in December an investigation began of another forum for public participation, Honduras’ National Forum on Convergence (FONAC).

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 presented the two remaining 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 took place in Santaf� de Bogot�, Colombia (October 15), and the other in San Jos�, 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, presented 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 the OAS. The agenda included the drafting of recommendations to incorporate the reduction of vulnerability of the economic and social infrastructure to El Ni�o and other natural phenomena arising in the day-to-day activities of regional and national development. More than 100 specialists from 18 countries of the hemisphere and Europe participated.

In coordination with the World Bank, the IDB, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), and the Pan American Highway Institute (IPC), the OAS presented the draft of the document "Hemispheric Plan for the Guide to Environmental Management of the Highway Transportation System" at the third meeting of the Latin American Society of Highway Environmental Systems (SLUAV), which took place in Florian�polis, Brazil, from November 29 to December 4, 1998. The OAS is coordinating the activities to complete the document and is incorporating 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 of the education sector to natural disasters.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the following working groups:

• The Working Group on Establishment of an Inter-American Environmental Law Network, chaired by the OAS, informed that an OAS financed effort has produced a blueprint for the environmental law network and a funding proposal for the first two years totaling approximately US$850,000. This design effort involved consultations with a wide range of stakeholders beginning in May 1998 at a meeting in Miami. The network is to be called Inter-American Forum on Environmental Law. UNDP, UNEP, and EPA are members of the Working Group.

• The Working Group on Financing of Sustainable Development, reported on the technical meeting which was held at the OAS on October 30, 1998 involving five technical papers. The use of tradable carbon emission permits as a source of funding for sustainable development attracted great attention. It was calculated that if the Latin American and Caribbean region reduced the cutting of forests and reduced CO₂ emissions it could obtain several billion dollars per year by trading carbon emission permits with the north. Other topics addressed at the meeting included financing of biodiversity conservation, environmental enforcement and water pollution control. The IDB reported on a workshop held recently on financing of biodiversity, which examined a document prepared by consultants.

• The Working Group on Pollution Prevention (Phase Out of Lead in Gasoline), chaired by the World Bank reported that the Economic Development Institute (EDI) is providing funding for the "Clean Air in the Americas Program" which was just launched. It will hold its first working session in Mexico in May 1999 with subsequent meetings in Lima and other large urban areas. EPA noted that this wider initiative to address clean air in the Americas is a direct outgrowth of the successful program on phase out of lead in gasoline which was greatly assisted by this Working Group. World Bank was asked to revise the terms of reference of the Working Group to broaden its scope to include clean air. The director of USDE reported that the OAS General Secretariat in coordination with OLADE, was planning to send out a questionnaire to all of the country focal points as a means of updating the data base related to the phase-out of lead in gasoline. The results of this effort will be reported at a future meeting of the task force.

• The Working Group on Mainstreaming Disaster Reduction in Development, chaired by the OAS reported on its start up activities. An organizational meeting was held on November 16, 1998 and two short term goals were agreed upon: (i) preparation of a document on policies and criteria for reconstruction following major disasters; and (ii) preparation of a document on methodologies for vulnerability assessment of economic and social infrastructure. These documents, which should be in draft by April 1999, will be used to program needed workshops and consultative meetings related to disaster reconstruction/management which are scheduled in the coming months. ECLAC and CAF expressed interest in joining this Working Group, which currently includes IBRD, IDB, USAID and OAS.

The representative of the Canadian Mission to the OAS briefed the Task Force on a project entitled "Energy and Environmental Law in Latin America and the Caribbean: Legislative Inventory and Analysis" which is supported by the University of Calgary, CIDA and OLADE. Task Force members were requested to study the document which she presented to explore their interest in possible co-financing.

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 the Department of Fellowships in the selection of fellowship recipients for courses in fields related to sustainable development and the environment.

• The reports on 1998 execution of projects were prepared for SEDI.

3. PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

3.1 Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Border Areas

• Project for the Sustainable Development of Border Areas in South America. A new phase of the project was completed in December 1998, with FEMCIDI financing of US$470,000, fully executed. This strengthened the working ties along the following borders: Colombia-Peru; Brazil-Peru; Brazil-Venezuela; Ecuador-Colombia; and Peru-Bolivia in the Amazon and Lake Titicaca Basins. During the final quarter, the implementation plans for the Colombia-Peru and Brazil-Peru binational programs were published, and the comprehensive diagnosis of the Bolivia-Peru program was completed. In the Brazil-Peru program, the first phase of studies on environmental zoning in the Assis Brazil-Brasilia area was completed. In the San Miguel-Putumayo program, the Plan's projects were validated through consultations at the municipal level, and the priority preinvestment projects were adapted. In the Brazil-Venezuela border area, socioeconomic studies and the plan for restoring degraded areas of the Quino River Basin were finished (third phase of the Study on Ecological and Economic Zoning and Land-Use Planning). The proposal on the macro environmental zoning of the Lake Titicaca, Pop�, and Salar de Coipasa basin system was finalized. Preparation of the mapping and the final report on the work conducted along the Colombia-Brazil border was finished. The project fulfilled the objectives of the phase, and the priority activities for the next phase, approved for 1999 by CEPCIDI, were identified. Those activities are aimed at projects to be carried out specifically in the Amazon Basin of Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.

Execution of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Border Areas in the Central American Isthmus was completed, with financing from FEMCIDI 1997. During the quarter, continued cooperation was provided through the following modules:

• Golf of Honduras (Guatemala–Honduras). The revision, editing, and printing of the Plan of Global Action and Implementation Strategy was completed. 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 members of the Honduran Foundation for Sustainable Development (FUNDESO). Assistance was provided in arranging for a funding request from the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency (COSUDE) for the execution of the Agriculture and Forestry Project. 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. The activities in this module were completed in December, according to schedule.

• San Juan River Basin (Costa Rica – Nicaragua). Work continued on preparing 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. Activities to validate and disseminate the information compiled also continued. The First Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Block B project, Integrated Water Resource and Sustainable Development Plan for the San Juan River Basin and Its Coastal Area was held. Starting at that meeting, the project's activities were begun. The terms of reference of the technical coordinators and consultants and the work plan and timetable were agreed upon. And, the contracts of the technical coordinators and the consultants, who begin activities in January 1999, were prepared.

Continuation of unfinished activities in this module was incorporated into the proposal presented for FEMCIDI financing, which was approved but not financed. This situation will affect the continuation of activities already under way.

• 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, 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.

Funding was requested from FEMCIDI to continue the activities in this module, with a similar outcome to the San Juan River Basin module.

Copies of the document on comprehensive diagnosis and the 13 project outlines were distributed among the different institutions that participated in the project; and assistance was lent to the governments for seeking financing for the implementation of the projects identified. In November, the area was severely affected by Hurricane Mitch, which showed the validity of the approach being taken in the Basin and the importance of the project.  Continuation of the project in 1999 depends on the allocation of FEMCIDI funding or funds from new sources of financing.

The project Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) continued its activities during this period. CPACC staff has begun discussions with regional governmental officials and the private sector for the establishment of a Caribbean Climate Change Center. Representatives from CPACC participating countries met in Barbados in preparation for the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the United Nations Conference of Global Climate Change and in particular to agree on a regional approach towards the proposed Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). In addition, CPACC co-sponsored a workshop on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation for representatives from the Wider Caribbean. During this meeting, delegates put forward a series of recommendations for priority action to address climate change in the region. Major progress has been made in project implementation, with all components now active, either on or ahead of schedule. All tidal gauges and weather-monitoring sensors have been installed. The data from the gauges is now available through the project’s Web site (www.cpacc.org, then click on "Go to Data"). The preparation of national inventories of coastal resources and their uses has begun by collecting, assessing, and cataloging existing information. Equipment for monitoring coral reefs was purchased and training will commence in the next quarter. St. Vincent and the Grenadines started data collection for its greenhouse gases inventory.

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. This quarter was the final quarter of the project. All activities were completed and the objectives were achieved. EMCCA II assisted the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) to organize a strategic technical meeting to discuss the draft proposal for a PDF Block B grant from the GEF for freshwater resources. In addition to representatives from UNDP, UNEP and OAS, several national water companies and water resources institutions were present. The proposal was sent to UNEP headquarters (UNEP is one of the three GEF implementing agencies) for their consideration and processing. EMCCA II co-sponsored, with CPACC, the Climate Institute, and the US Environmental Protection Agency, a regional technical workshop on climate change impacts in the Wider Caribbean. It should be noted that EMCCA II funds also provided OAS counterpart support for the CPACC project.

3.3.  Cooperation for integrated management of water resources and river basins

Work continued on various elements of the Program of Strategic Action (PEA) for the Bermejo River Basin. During this period, actions particularly concerned with the development of ecological zoning and the site location of the environmental problems of the Bermejo River Basin were taken. Maps of districts and representative zones determining primary production in the Central Valley of Tarija, Bolivia were made. The second stage of the study on environmental legislation was begun and progress was made on the environmental education program of the PEA. The final stage was initiated in the design of the Barit�-Tariqu�a Biological Corridor, in the study on control of sediment in the Tolomosa River Basin, and in the design of a mathematical model on the morphology of generation and transportation of sediment. In addition, the studies on the transboundary migration characteristics, erosion control for the Santa Ana and Camacho river basins, and land tenure of the Central Valley of Tarija were completed. The thematic cards of a digital format of the natural resources of the Bermejo River Basin were completed. Finally, from November 25 to 27, 1998, the third regional workshop was held in Jujuy, Argentina, where the analysis of the Environmental Assessment of the Bermejo River Basin was presented. Valuable comments were received and will be incorporated in the final document of the PEA.

Preparation began of the terms of reference of the different subprojects that make up the two projects financed by the GEF, Integrated Management of the Upper Paraguay River Basin and the Integrated Management of the Activities in the S�o Francisco River Basin - Phase I, which will each last two and a half years. GEF resources for these projects total US$11,386,000, of which US$6,615,000 corresponds to the Upper Paraguay River Basin and US$4,771,000 to the S�o Francisco Basin. Activities in both projects are expected to begin in the first quarter of 1999.

Different activities will be carried out in the framework of the project Strengthening the Water Resources Sector in Brazil. The Brazilian government is providing funding for that project in the amount of US$3,400,000. Among the activities carried out are the preparation of the document on the role of municipalities and water resources management, the Manual on Water Use Rights of the Ministry of Water Resources (SRH), economic studies to determine mechanisms for pricing water, continuation of the meetings with the states and water basin organizations for the implementation of new Committees on Federal River Basins, and the continued formation of the data bank needed for the development of the Management Information System of the Ministry of Water Resources (SRH).

The OAS-USAID Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) is being carried out with a USAID grant of US$5 million. During the fourth quarter of 1998, the Project continued its technical cooperation activities in the Caribbean. In October, CDMP and the OAS Natural Hazards Project co-sponsored a regional workshop in St. Kitts, to present the results of a year long study in five Eastern Caribbean countries of the vulnerability of schools and shelters to natural hazards. The study produced a manual describing standards for retrofitting and construction of schools and shelters, as well as a school/shelter maintenance manual. In December, CDMP sponsored two meetings in Antigua, a one-day roundtable on safer home construction and a two-day workshop on storm hazard mapping. In the housing meeting, which was in response to housing damages resulting from Hurricane Georges, a group of primarily private-sector participants attempted to identify the constraints and potential for safer housing in Antigua and to propose a course for future action. The storm hazard-mapping workshop was the first in a series of planned workshops, in which the TAOS/L storm hazard model was used to develop maps of storm surge and wind hazards from tropical storms. The workshop served as a forum for discussing the implications of these hazards for development and emergency management planning in the country. Further information on the CDMP is available on the Web at http://www.oas.org./en/cdmp.

With support from the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), Phase IV of the Program on Flood Alert and Reduction of Vulnerability to Flooding in Central America is being 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). National and local institutions have continued to implement national workshops and a regional workshop on emergency planning. Activities have been interrupted due to the impact of Hurricane Mitch in late October.

With funding from FEMCIDI, the USDE continued the international coordination of the Project for Vulnerability Reduction to Natural Dangers in the MERCOSUR Transportation Corridors. Training and technical national studies on pilot sections of selected trade corridors most vulnerable to natural dangers continued. Two meetings with the national project coordinators and technical advisors were also held, one in Florianopolis on December 1, and the other in Washington, DC on December 15.

4. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

/1  The Interagency Task Force now has as members the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Division for Sustainable Development (DESA) of United Nations, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of NAFTA (CEC), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Institute on Cooperation for Agriculture (IICA), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Development Corporation (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).