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Strengthening the Shared Eco-Agenda |
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By Patricia Grogg *
HAVANA - It is crucial to fortify the common agenda of Latin America and the Caribbean with sights on the Rio+10 Summit in South Africa next year, stresses Cuba's Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Rosa Elena Simeón.
A regular participant in the periodic meetings of the Environment Ministers Forum for the region, begun in 1982 in Mexico City, Simeón emphasizes poverty, the problems of disease-carrying and polluted water supplies, and the protection of biodiversity as the priority issues on the Latin American environmental agenda.
Q: What will be the environmental status of Latin America and the Caribbean as they head to the Earth Summit next year in Durban, South Africa?
A: We may not have a healthier environment, we still can't demonstrate tangible results, but I think we are going to the summit with a clearer awareness and greater knowledge about our situation. Just a few years ago, we didn't even have an environmental report or data. But today we know what is occurring, what our problems are. That is why the region made its presence felt at the Global Ministerial Environment Forum held in Nairobi last February.
Q: The region promoted debate on environmental governance at that forum, why?
A: Environmental governance has to do with sovereignty. There was unity not only in our region, but also among the Group of 77 (developing countries) to reject the attempt to establish a supranational body that governs the global environment and, with it, the countries themselves. The fact that we are in a globalized world does not mean that, based on environmental problems, we will be governed from the outside. It is essential to strengthen the United Nations Development Program (UNEP), which has allowed all governments a space. Instead of creating a new organization, let's reinforce what exists.
Q: Are Latin America and the Caribbean just victims of the greenhouse effect and the deterioration of the ozone layer?
A: I think the region is mostly a victim. It is responsible for two percent of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. The major contributors to the problem are the industrialized countries, with the United States emitting the most greenhouse gases.
Q: What can the region do about a problem for which it is not greatly responsible?
A: Our position is to seek compromises of shared responsibility, but with differentiated actions. The measures can't be the same for those that produce two percent of the gases as those that produce 80 percent.
Q: Many countries in the region have well defined environmental policies, but the degradation seems to continue.
A: Things have changed. When the Rio Earth Summit (1992) was held, a large portion of the countries had only commissions set up to attend to the matter. Today, most have ministries or agencies ascribed to the presidency. In other words, not only do they have legal instrumentation, but now they also have the institutions to comply with the laws. However, sustainable development is not all roses. It engenders contradictions and requires planning - it is a long-term effort.
* Patricia Grogg is an IPS correspondent
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