Andean environmental authorities propose that CAN
assume the region’s leadership in climate change

Lima, June 4, 2007.- Environmental and Sustainable Development authorities of the Andean Community countries brought up the need for CAN to assume the region’s leadership in climate change and to step efforts to elaborate the Andean strategy on the subject, giving priority to initiatives that contribute to sustainable development and poverty eradication. 

At a meeting held last week in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Andean environmental authorities reaffirmed their commitment to continue supporting the implementation of the 2006-2010 Andean Environmental Agenda, as an environmental road map for the region. 

In a Declaration signed at the close of the meeting, the Environmental authorities recognized that “Andean ecosystems are highly vulnerable” and, “as depository countries of most of those ecosystems, particularly high plateaus and Andean forests, which render important environmental services…,”reaffirmed their commitment to their conservation.

They also approved a proposal to hold a major event in late October of this year, called Clima Latino, to disseminate and create an awareness of climate change problems, and requested the CAN General Secretariat to assist the Quito and Guayaquil mayors’ offices in organizing that forum. 

They agreed to step up efforts and to coordinate common Andean positions on climate change, biodiversity and integrated water resource management, with a view toward their contribution to the preparation of both the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (Dec. 2007) and the Fifth European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean Summit (EU-LAC Summit).

The Environmental authorities recommended the prompt launching of the LAC-EU political dialogue on environmental issues so that the Fifth EU-LAC Summit may, if possible, adopt a series of operational measures to build up subregional, regional and European environmental cooperation.

They, likewise, asked the Andean Community General Secretariat to continue consolidating the Andean Institute for Biodiversity (AIB) initiative, subject to certain premises like reviewing the proposal in order not to duplicate efforts with research institutes in our countries and forming a concerted action group and an implementation unit to define the objective and prepare a technical, legal and financial proposal.