Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Environmental Indicators of the Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC) Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean

2. Background The Initiative covers 6 thematic areas: • Biological Diversity • Water Resources • Vulnerability, Human Settlements and Sustainable Cities • Social Issues (including health, inequity and poverty) • Economic Issues (including trade, production and consumption patterns) • Institutional Issues

3. WGEI achievements (2010 – 2011) • Continue indicators development The WGEI has agreed 33 indicators of the Initiative, out of a total of 49 existing indicators • Foster the elaboration of National ILAC Reports Ten countries have published National ILAC Reports to date, three of them in the past biennium: Panamá (2010), Nicaragua (2011) and Uruguay (2011). • Promote the use of ILAC indicators at regional level “Regional Revision of Indicators 2011”, adocument with regional data for all the indicators agreed by the WGEI.

4. WGEI achievements (2010 – 2011) Objetivos de la Red Intergubernamental • Acuerdo Marco • Promote the incorporation of countries of the region to the WGEI In 2010, 12 new countries became part of WGEI ANTIGUA & BARBUDA BELIZE HAITI SAN KITTS & NEVIS SAN TA LUCIA BARBADOS Member countries of WGEI since 2002 Member countries of WGEI since 2010

5. WGEI achievements (2010 – 2011) • Formulación del Plan de Acción • Promote national capacity building in the elaboration of statistics and environmental indicators • Continue and further coordination with the working group on statistics and environmental indicators of the Statistical Conference of the Americas • Training on the use of geo-spatial tools for the construction of ILAC indicators • Promote the systematization and institutionalization of ILAC indicators monitoring at national and regional level

6. Objetivos de la Red Intergubernamental • Work Plan 2012 - 2013 • Strengthen and continue the development of ILAC indicators’ methodological sheets in the thematic areas approved by the Forum, achieving consensus among all countries of the region • Foster the elaboration of National ILAC Reports and the update of those already published • Promote the use of ILAC indicators at regional level • Strengthen the Working Group on Environmental Indicators through regular meetings, incorporation of new countries and thematic areas where indicators can be applied • Promote concrete activities with other groups and similar initiatives at regional level: WGES, SCA, CAN, CCAD, CARICOM, MERCOSUR

7. Work Plan 2012 - 2013 • Promote training on the use of geo-spatial tools for the construction of indicators: Geographic Information software for the web portal • Promote the incorporation and active participation of Caribbean Small Island Developing States • Promote the systematization and institutionalization of ILAC indicators’monitoring at national and regional level (national system of environmental information).

8. Objetivos de la Red Intergubernamental • Recommendations to strengthen ILAC The structure of ILAC indicators needs review to achieve greater internal consistency and clarity in their interpretation. A modification in the indicators structure, re-naming information categories is proposed:

9. Recommendations to strengthen ILAC WGEI urges Governments to strengthen the offices of environmental statistics through: • National policies to improve the management of environmental information • More human resources and capacity development • More allocation of financial resources • Creation of Environmental Information Systems • Horizontal and triangular cooperation

10. Recommendations to strengthen ILAC The gap between demand and availability of environmental information in the region continues growing Some reasons: • Limited technical capacity in the institutions in charge of attending information demands • Growing and varied demand of information by the Government and society Solutions: • National policies oriented to improve environmental information management schemes • Widen information supply and maintain updated, transparent and accessible registries • Institutional coordination

11. Recommendations to strengthen ILAC WGEI makes available its strength, the technical capacity of the group and the results of its work to the Forum of Ministers • Contribute to countries´ preparation towards the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Río+20) • Use of indicators for sustainable development initiatives and goals that will be eventually approved during this Conference.

12. Recommendations to strengthen ILAC The WGEI ratifies the importance of the following topics, largely included in the ILAC: • Environmental aspects, topics identified in the regional consultation process of the GEO-5 Report: Environmental Governance, Biodiversity, Water, Soil and Climate Change. • Economic aspects, monitoring the sustainability in production and consumption patterns. For this, the WGEI proposes to work in collaboration with the Council of Government Experts on Sustainable Consumption and Production. • Social aspects, to measure the vulnerability of population to extreme natural disasters and socio-economic crisis at global, regional and national level.

13. El portal de indicadores ambientales ILAC: www.geodatos.org • Thankyou • www.geodatos.org Thankyou UNEP ROLAC: Secretariat of the WGEI