Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
     
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
 

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ENVIRONMENT: Biodiversity
MANDATES

  1. To advance the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use, national deforestation and conservation commitments, and regional efforts to halt and reverse deforestation and conserve, sustainably manage, and use ecosystems, we commit to strengthen our efforts to:

    • a. Work, with the support of regional and subregional organizations, to stimulate sustainable development and promote equal opportunity for populations affected by climate change, including indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting, preserving, and maintaining knowledge, innovations, and practices embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, subject to domestic legislation;

    • c. Adopt, as appropriate, national initiatives to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation, which includes the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, implementing more ambitious actions in keeping with science and the goal of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels;

    • e. Cooperate, as appropriate, including in digital formats, in investigating, developing, and applying biotechnologies that contribute to the conservation, restoration, and promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity, while respecting relevant domestic legislation governing access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their utilization; (Our Sustainable Green Future, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. We will collaborate to promote environmental sustainability through regional cooperation, in accordance with national legislation and applicable international law, in the areas of human and institutional capacity building, transfer on mutually agreed terms of environmentally sound technology, and effective mobilisation of new and additional human and financial resources, as appropriate, including innovative public and private financing mechanisms and instruments, for inter alia:

    1. the sustainable management of forests, including efforts for reducing deforestation;
    2. the sustainable management of protected areas and World Heritage Sites;
    3. protecting endangered and migratory species;
    4. combating illegal international trafficking of biodiversity;
    5. promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge on biodiversity, such as through the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network; and,
    6. recognising and sharing the benefits arising from access to and use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. (Declaration of Port of Spain, 2009).

  1. Advance hemispheric conservation of plants, animals and ecosystems through, as appropriate: capacity building, expanding partnership networks and information sharing systems, including the Inter American Biodiversity Network; cooperation in the fight against illegal trade in wildlife; strengthening of cooperation arrangements for terrestrial and marine natural protected areas, including adjacent border parks and important areas for shared species; support for regional ecosystem conservation mechanisms; the development of a hemispheric strategy to support the conservation of migratory wildlife throughout the Americas, with the active engagement of civil society; and the promotion the objectives and the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

  • Initiative23. As appropriate, seek the ratification of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and seek the adoption of legislative, administrative, and other policy measures to implement the provisions or promote the objectives of these conventions. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative24. Develop, as appropriate, national policies and regulations on access to and protection of genetic resources, including endemic gene pools, and promote research on the identification and economic valuation of biological diversity. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative26. Promote research and training programs on conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative28. Consider, in accordance with the terms of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, ways and means for the effective protection and use of traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices of indigenous people and other local communities relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, as well as for fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from such knowledge, innovations, and practices. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative31. Seek to establish an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, primarily through the Internet, that will promote compatible means of collection, communication, and exchange of information relevant to decision-making and education on biodiversity conservation, and that builds upon such initiatives as the Clearing-House Mechanism provided for in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Man and Biosphere Network (MABNET Americas), and the Biodiversity Conservation Information System (BCIS), an initiative of nine programs of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and partner organizations. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative50. Promote hemispheric cooperation at all levels, including through the use of existing transboundary agreements and initiatives, in the conservation, management, and sustainable use of water resources and biological diversity. This would include the exchange of information and experiences on issues related to inland watersheds, river basins, and sub-basins. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative56. Promote the development or strengthening, as appropriate, of institutional capabilities at the national level or, where specific agreements exist, at the subregional level, especially in land use planning, coastal zone management, coastal engineering, environmental impact assessment, environmental protection and natural resource management laws, hydrography, fisheries and marine affairs management. This should be supported by promoting the establishment of a marine environment center for the Caribbean and the design and development of model legislation which could serve as the basis for national legislation that would provide an integrated and sustainable approach to the management of coastal and marine resources. Such model legislation should be consistent with relevant international treaties to which states are party and enhance the effectiveness of government policies and programs. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • Initiative57. Cooperate in the development, strengthening and implementation of pollution prevention programs and regional disaster mitigation plans, including contingency and response arrangements to combat oil spills and other forms of pollution which have an impact on water resources. This should include mechanisms to reduce current levels of marine pollution and, where necessary, the development and implementation of sanitary water quality criteria and effluent standards and guidelines. (Plan of Action Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1996).

  • 22.1 Our Hemisphere contains over half the world's biodiversity. To sustain the Hemisphere's social and economic development, we must intensify efforts to understand, assess, and sustainably use this living resource base. We must act now to increase the technical and management capacity and public awareness of national and international efforts in this area. Agenda 2l, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and other related international instruments recognize these needs and call for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.2 Seek to ensure that strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are integrated into relevant economic development activities including forestry, agriculture, and coastal zone management, taking into account the social dimension and impact of these activities. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.3 Develop and implement the policies, techniques, and programs to assess, conserve, and sustainably use terrestrial, marine, and coastal biodiversity resources. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.4 Seek to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity and pursue opportunities for collaboration under it, and, as appropriate, other international and regional environmental instruments. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.7 Build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, through programs on management of parks and protected areas, forests and wetlands management, the Small Islands Developing States Action Plan, the Coral Reef Initiative, CITES support projects, and the Caribbean Regional Marine Pollution Action Plan, among others. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.8 Launch a "Decade of Discovery" to promote hemispheric technical and scientific cooperation and to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

  • 22.9 Increase support of training and education initiatives addressing sustainable use of biodiversity resources and foster activities by universities, non-governmental actors and organizations and the private sector to assist in the training of managers and to empower local communities. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).

 

 

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