(26 March, 2012) Main progress and challenges for achieving a more sustainable and inclusive development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in accordance with the world commitments made during the Earth Summit in 1992, are the main topics to be assessed by representatives of several UN agencies on 27 March at the Organization's headquarters in New York.
Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations Asha-Rose Migiro will chair the event guiding an in-depth revision and statistical analysis of the implementation of global commitments on sustainable development, as well as strategic guidelines for Latin America.
Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Heraldo Muñoz, Regional Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Arab Hoballah, Head of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch of the Technology, Industry and Economics Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women will take part in the dialogue.
The discussion will emphasize how to fill gaps and orient public policies towards sustainable development, identify pragmatic solutions aiming to foster a low-carbon development, create green jobs and integrate full costs and benefits associated to the use of ecosystem services and materials.
At the event, will be distributed the final version of the document Sustainable Development 20 Years on from the Earth Summit: Progress, Gaps and Strategic Guidelines for Latin America and the Caribbean, previously presented, in a draft version, to ministers and representatives of governments in the region during the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Meeting Preparatory to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), in September 2011.
The document was created under the coordination of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in close cooperation with the regional offices of the following organizations of the UN System: UNEP, UNDP, UNFPA, FAO, UN-Habitat, UNESCO, UN-WFP, PAHO, UNOPS, ILO, UNWTO, UNCTAD, World Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication, and ISDR.
While the document and the debate are both focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, the contents are also expected to be useful to other countries and world regions in the lead-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20-22 June 2012.
For questions, please contact ECLAC's Public Information and Web Services Unit. E-mail: dpisantiago@cepal.org ; Tel.: (56 2) 210 2040.
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