The authorities present at the High Level Meeting of National Authorities on Environmental Issues in the Andean Community, held in the city of Quito, Ecuador, on July 3, 2001, subscribe to the following statement:

Guidelines for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in the Andean Community

In accordance with the mandate contained in direction 26 of the Presidential Act of Carabobo, we approve the "Guidelines for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in the Andean Community," which are the product of a detailed process of analysis on the part of the Andean Committee of Environmental Authorities(CAAAM), on the understanding that these guidelines will continue to be revised at the pertinent technical and decision-making levels, in such a way that they will cover all environmental issues.

Regional Biodiversity Strategy

We reiterate our support to the process undertaken in the Andean Community to design the Regional Biodiversity Strategy for the Countries of the Andean Tropics. We trust that this effort will result in a relevant contribution toward establishing alternatives for sustainable regional development and that it will promote the value of the goods and services offered by our ecosystems, in particular the tropical rain forests.

International Year of Mountains

We recognize the value of the mountain regions and we are aware that these ecosystems are an important source of water, energy, biodiversity, mineral resources, farm products, cultural heritage, and recreation, as well as providing a physical environment for human populations.

Taking advantage, also, of the fact that the UN Assembly has named 2002 the "International Year of Mountains", and bearing in mind the explicit recognition of their importance found in Chapter 13 of Agenda XXI and the close ties of these ecosystems with the Conventions on Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Desertification, among other international instruments, we express our commitment to evaluate and propose, through the Andean Committee of Environmental Authorities (CAAAM), the design of a draft strategy for the sustainable development of the ecosystems and of the populations of the mountains. We consider that the "Declaration of Cuzco" approved at the International Workshop on Mountain Ecosystems, held in Cuzco, Peru, from April 25-27, 2001, is a good foundation on which to build this process in the Andean community.

Andean Position on the Preparatory Process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development

As a result of the Subregional Meeting for the Andean Area on the Regional Preparatory Process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg in September 2002, we approve the document entitled "Contributions from the Preparatory Meeting of the Andean Region for the World Summit on Sustainable Development to the Regional Platform of Latin America and the Caribbean," in which the Andean priorities in this preparatory process are specified.

Quito, July 3, 2001