The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges and opportunities

236 Pages·2002·1.01 MB·English

The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges and opportunities
The sustainability of
development in Latin
America and the
Caribbean: challenges
and opportunities

Economic Commission Regional Office for
for Latin America and the Latin America and the
Caribbean Caribbean

Santiago, Chile, July 2002
Libros de la CEPAL
68
The following persons contributed to the preparation of this document
ECLAC UNEP Regional Office for Latin America
and the Caribbean

Substantive coordination
Alicia Bárcena Ibarra Ricardo Sánchez Sosa

Authors
Roberto Guimarães Julia Carabias Lillo
Guillermo Acuña Fernando Tudela Abad
Enrique Provencio
José Luis Samaniego Leyva

Consultants
Antonio Elizalde Manuel Rodríguez Becerra
Ramiro León Ronald Vargas Brenes

Collaborators
Jean Acquatella, Hugo Altomonte, Ernesto Raúl Brañes, Exequiel Ezcurra, Oscar
Espíndola, Gilberto Gallopín, José Javier Ramírez, Jorge Ronzón, Rossana Silva
Gómez García, Arthur Gray, Ricardo Repetto, Kaveh Zahedi
Jordan, Arturo León, Jorge Mattar, Carlos
de Miguel, Niels Holm-Nielsen, Georgina
Nuñez, María Angela Parra, Verónica
Rengifo, Jorge Rodríguez, Marianne
Schaper, Claudia Schattán, Miguel Villa,
Ricardo Zapata
United Nations Environment Programme
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNEP)
Boulevard de los Virreyes 155, Lomas de Virreyes, CP 11000, Mexico City, Mexico
Tel. [phone] - 5 202 4841 Fax [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.rolac.unep.mx
United Nations Publication
LC/G.2145/Rev.1-P
ISBN: 92-1-121357-6
Copyright © United Nations, July 2002. All rights reserved
Sales No. E.02.II.G.48
Printed in United Nations, Santiago, Chile
Applications for right to reproduce this work are welcomed and should be sent to the Secretary of
the Publications Board, United Nations Headquarters, New York, N.Y. 10017, United States.
Member States and the governmental institutions may reproduce this work without prior
authorization, but are requested to mention the source and inform the United Nations of such
reproduction.
The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: ... 5
Contents
Foreword .........................................................................................................11
Summary .........................................................................................................15
Introduction......................................................................................................17

Part one Sustainability in the region

Chapter I
Economic performance in the 1990s..............................................................31
A. Economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean..........32
B. Public finances and inflation.......................................................34
C. Capital flows and the instability of economic growth ............35
D. Economic openness, trade and integration...............................36
E. Foreign direct investment............................................................40
F. The impact of production transformation on sustainable
development..................................................................................41

Chapter II
Major trends in social development in the 1990s.........................................45
A. Employment..................................................................................46
B. Loss of job security.......................................................................49
C. Inequality in income distribution...............................................49
D. Inequalities in land distribution.................................................51
E. Relative decline in poverty..........................................................52
F. Public social spending.................................................................54
G. Social challenges for sustainability............................................57
6 ECLAC
Chapter III
Demographic trends........................................................................................61
A. Population and environmentally sustainable development...63
1. Demographic transition as a challenge
for governments and societies...............................................63
2. The dependency ratio and the demographic bonus..........64
3. The population/resources ratio. Carrying capacity...........65
4. Mobility of regional population: migrations.......................66
5. Migration and remittances....................................................68
6. Spatial trends in population settlement...............................70

Chapter IV
The environmental situation in the region...................................................73
A. Natural ecosystems......................................................................73
1. Natural land ecosystems........................................................73
2. Marine and coastal ecosystems...........................................105
B. Water resources..........................................................................111
1. Water resources and their availability in the region........111
2. Water management in the region.......................................118
C. Urbanization and the environment..........................................120
D. Pollution.......................................................................................126
1. Air...........................................................................................126
2. Drinking water and sanitation............................................129
3. Waste......................................................................................131
4. Changes in industrial pollution..........................................134
5. Rural and diffused pollution...............................................135
E. Energy trends in the region and global climate change........136
1. Energy trends in Latin America and the
Caribbean over recent decades...........................................136
2. Latin America and the Caribbean and global
climate change.......................................................................142
3. The contribution of Latin America and the
Caribbean to total emissions...............................................143

Chapter V
Socio-environmental vulnerability..............................................................147
A. The world context.......................................................................147
B. Natural disasters in the region.................................................148
C. The socio-economic impact of disasters in the region...........151
The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: ... 7
Chapter VI
Public policies.................................................................................................157
A. The institutional framework for the environment.................157
B. Evolution of regulatory frameworks.......................................162
C. Integration of public policies....................................................164
D. Experiments with the use of economic instruments in
environmental management.....................................................165
E. Participation for sustainable development: sustainable
development at the national and local levels;
participation of leading actors from civil society
and the productive sectors........................................................169
1. Sustainable development at the national and
local levels..............................................................................169
2. Civil society and citizen participation................................172
3. Participation of the business sector in sustainable
development..........................................................................175

Chapter VII
International framework...............................................................................179
A. Pre- and post-Rio multilateral environmental
accords.........................................................................................180
B. The region and global environmental problems....................183
C. The Latin American and Caribbean response........................185
D. Subregional integration and sustainable development
agendas........................................................................................191
E. Imperatives for a new institutional structure.........................193

Part two Future prospects

Chapter VIII
The region’s role in a global alliance...........................................................199
A. Recognizing the progress made................................................199
B. A disturbing assessment............................................................200
C. The main challenges...................................................................201
D. Constraints in national and global agendas............................202
E. The uniqueness of the region....................................................203
F. Domesticating globalization for sustainable
development................................................................................204
G. Synergy between agreements and more efficient
environmental institutions........................................................204
H. Convergence between global agreements and
the regional position..................................................................205
8 ECLAC
I. Knowledge and technology for sustainable
development................................................................................206
J. Towards a new stage of policy integration.............................206
K. Public participation....................................................................207

Chapter IX
Proposals for future action............................................................................209
A. Protection and sustainable use of natural
ecosystems and biodiversity, and access to
genetic resources.........................................................................213
1. Protection and sustainable use of natural
ecosystems and biodiversity...............................................213
2. Access to genetic and transgenic resources.......................216
3. Regional and global alliances..............................................216
B. Vulnerability...............................................................................217
1. Natural disasters...................................................................217
2. Vulnerability and sustainable development
in small island States............................................................218
C. Water management....................................................................219
D. Energy management..................................................................221
1. Climate change......................................................................221
2. Energy efficiency...................................................................223
E. Urban management....................................................................223
F. The institutional underpinnings of sustainable
development................................................................................224

Bibliography .................................................................................................227

Annex - Rio de Janeiro Platform of Action on the road to
Johannesburg 2002.....................................................................235
Tables, figures and boxes
Tables
I.1 Latin America and the Caribbean: world market
shares, 1985-1998...................................................................................37
I.2 Latin America and the Caribbean: export, in total
and by subregional integration scheme, 1990-2000..........................39
I.3 Latin America and the Caribbean: selected environmental
indicators................................................................................................42
II.1 Latin America: poverty and indigence rates, 1980-2000..................52
The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: ... 9
III.1 Latin America and the Caribbean: main remittance
receiving countries, 1990-2000.............................................................69
IV.1 Latin America and the Caribbean (33 countries):
area of forests and other wooded areas.............................................81
IV.2 Latin America and the Caribbean (33 countries):
output of forest products.....................................................................83
IV.3 Latin America and the Caribbean (33 countries):
annual changes in forested areas........................................................89
IV.4 Renewable water resources and availability of
water, by continents............................................................................112
IV.5 Past evolution and future projections of water use,
by continents........................................................................................115
IV.6 Latin America and the Caribbean (24 countries):
urban population as percentage of total, 1970-2000.......................121
IV.7 People living in cities of over a million inhabitants.......................122
IV.8 The largest cities in Latin America, 1995.........................................123
IV.9 Air pollution........................................................................................127
IV.10 Levels of lead in the blood of different urban population
groups in selected countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean.............................................................................................128
IV.11 Drinking water and basic sanitation: situation of
Latin America and the Caribbean.....................................................130
IV.12 Latin America (selected cities): solid waste
production, wastewater treatment and waste collection...............132
IV.13 Latin America (23 countries): coverage of urban
sanitation..............................................................................................133
IV.14 Regions of the world: selected energy and carbon
dioxide (CO) emission indicators....................................................141
2
V.1 The 10 worst natural disasters of the twentieth
century in the Caribbean....................................................................150
V.2 Latin America and the Caribbean: natural disasters
between 1972 and 2001.......................................................................152
V.3 The damage caused by hurricane Mitch..........................................154
VI.1 Highest environmental authorities in Latin America
and the Caribbean...............................................................................159
VI.2 Examples of the use of economic instruments in
Latin America and the Caribbean.....................................................168
VI.3 Latin American and Caribbean countries which have
national sustainable development councils.....................................170
VI.4 Summary of participation mechanisms provided for in
the legislation of Latin American and Caribbean countries..........174
10 ECLAC
VI.5 Countries which have business councils or organizations
for sustainable development.............................................................176
VII.1 Current status of multilateral environmental
agreements in the region....................................................................186

Figures
I.1 Latin America and the Caribbean: economic growth,
1951-2000................................................................................................32
I.2 Latin America and the Caribbean: economic growth,
1946-1980 and 1991-2000......................................................................33
I.3 The external vulnerability of the region
GDP growth and net resource transfers, 1991-2000.........................35
I.4 Latin America and the Caribbean: foreign direct investment,
1991-2000................................................................................................41
II.1 Unemployment indices, 1991-2000.....................................................47
II.2 Latin America: social spending, by sector.........................................54
III.1 Latin America and the Caribbean: population by
age group, 1950-2045............................................................................63
III.2 United States: distribution of immigrants from Latin America
and the Caribbean, by subregion of origin, 1971-1998.....................67
IV.1 Areas of biomes.....................................................................................77
IV.2 Biodiversity in megadiverse countries of Latin
America and the Caribbean.................................................................78
IV.3 Annual production of industrial waste per
inhabitant, 1993...................................................................................132
IV.4 Projected energy demand..................................................................137
IV.5 Composition of final energy consumption
worldwide, 1973 and 1999.................................................................138
IV.6 Energy intensity, 1980-1999...............................................................140
IV.7 Latin America: carbon dioxide emissions, 1980-1999....................143
IV.8 Relationship between CO emissions and GDP, and
2
CO emissions and population, 1977-1998.......................................144
2
VII.1 Latin America and the Caribbean: production
of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS), 1986-1996......................................184
Boxes
IV.1 Biomes of Latin America and the Caribbean....................................74
IV.2 The Meso-American biological corridor............................................98
IV.3 Forest planning: two successful examples.......................................100
IV.4 Finance for the conservation of renewable resources....................103
IV.5 Water resources of the region............................................................113
The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: ... 11
Foreword
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. This conference, which has
also come to be known as the “Earth Summit,” marked the beginning of a
new round of world conferences focusing on the analysis of development
problems. This “new social cycle” of United Nations conferences was
launched in response to the wishes of Member States and has led to a
renewal of efforts first made 20 years ago to find solutions to the most
pressing problems coming to the fore on the global stage. These conferences
have also contributed to the ethical and political consolidation of a
cooperation regime based on new international legal principles.
The Conference in Rio de Janeiro laid the groundwork for a new world
consensus on sustainable development and on global conventions dealing
with emerging issues such as biological diversity and climate change. In the
course of this process, an awareness of the environmental aspects of
development, which had traditionally been quite limited or entirely absent in
the region, gradually percolated into the public and political spheres. The
preparatory activities and the Conference itself involved many civil society
organizations, bringing together more than 18,000 citizens from around the
world.1 This led to the creation of institutions and to the formulation of
government strategies and policies for the promotion of sustainable
development. It also prompted steps to address this issue within the spheres
of education, culture and the media. More recently, the concept of sustainable

1 Bárcena (1999) analyses the importance of the involvement of civil society organizations
in the Earth Summit and in other global conferences.