Accelerating development and implementation of sustainable transport policies in the region is one of the main objectives of the Sustainable Transport Forum for Latin American and Caribbean, created in 2011. The next preparatory meeting of this forum will take place on 29 and 30 October at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
The first Forum meeting took place in 2011 in Bogota, Colombia, and was organized by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Colombia's Ministry of Transport. Since 2004, UNCRD has been implementing a similar process in Asia.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) supports and works with the intergovernmental forum that brings together representatives from national transport and environment agencies, international officials, experts and members of non-governmental organizations.
The countries gathered in Colombia - Argentina, Brazil, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay - signed the Bogota Declaration, which highlights the opportunities and actions needed to provide more equitable, efficient and environmentally sustainable access to the region's goods and services.
The Declaration states that the meeting was the first in a series of regular forums organized with a view to sharing and reviewing best practices, sectoral trends and challenges, and progress in promoting sustainable transport in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Declaration defined sustainable transport as follows: "the provision of services and infrastructure for the mobility of people and goods needed for economic and social development, and improved quality of life and competitiveness. These services and transport infrastructure provide secure, reliable, economical, efficient, equitable and affordable access to all, while mitigating the local and global negative impacts on health and the environment, in the short, medium and long term, without compromising the development of future generations".
ECLAC and UNCRD are working closely with leading regional organizations in the promotion of sustainable transport, such as the Development Bank of Latin America - CAF, the Clean Air Institute, the World Bank, IDB, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and EMBARQ- the World Resource Institute Center for Transportation and Environment.
