U.S.-Latin America and Caribbean Environmental Partnership
(U.S.-LACEP)
Reducing environmental contamination from industrial
processes and ensuring the rational use of key natural resources
(such as forests and water) are vital to maintaining LAC business
competitiveness in international markets, preserving the environment,
and helping reduce human health risks. The U.S.-Latin America
and Caribbean Environmental Partnership (U.S.-LACEP) program
seeks to improve environmental performance of targeted Latin
American and Caribbean (LAC) communities and businesses through
the introduction of replicable technical, policy and financial
models. In doing so, U.S.-LACEP contributes to environmentally
sustainable economic development, trade and poverty alleviation.
FY 2006 will be the last year of funding for U.S.-LACEP.
Historically the program has focused on four priority environmental
issues in hemisphere: (1) environmentally sound trade in support
of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the U.S. - Central
American, Andean and Panama Free Trade Agreements, among others;
(2) industrial clean production and pollution prevention;
(3) sound water resource management; and (4) sustainable forestry.
Currently, only the trade and environment and cleaner production
components of the program are active.
USAID's U.S.-LACEP environmental activities are summarized
below in the following areas:
Environmental Policy: Environmental
Assessments of Trade Liberalization
Since 2001, USAID's U.S.-LACEP program has supported the
Organization of American States' (OAS) Inter-American Forum
on Environmental Law (FIDA) to conduct environmental assessments
of trade liberalization and capacity building needs in OAS
member states. The OAS-FIDA program works with member states
to conduct analyses of key trade and environment issues; increase
in-country technical capacities to conduct environmental assessments
of trade agreements; and promote greater understanding of
trade-related environmental challenges and opportunities in
the LAC region.
Initially, the OAS-FIDA project concentrated on conducting
environmental assessments for the Free Trade Area of the Americas,
starting with MERCOSUR countries. Analyses have been completed
for select sectors of the economy in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay,
and Paraguay. Recently the OAS program was expanded to include
countries in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andes.
In 2004, trade and environment studies were completed for
the sugar and melon sectors in Costa Rica and Guatemala and
a desktop review of trade and environment issues was undertaken
for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
In the Andes, OAS-FIDA recently completed assessments of
the potential environmental impacts of trade liberalization
various sectors in several countries: confections and meat
in Colombia, tuna and African palm in Ecuador, and textiles
and tropical wood in Peru. Outreach sessions were held in
the fall of 2005 and spring of 2006 with Ecuadorian, Colombian
and Peruvian government representatives and members of civil
society and the private sector to discuss the findings of
the draft reports. Final reports will be released at the end
of the year. In the Caribbean and Central America, OAS-FIDA
is conducting additional trade and environment studies for
the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama which
are due to be completed in the spring of 2007.
The OAS-FIDA studies have not only helped raise awareness
of the links between trade and environment but have also identified
important environment-trade issues that have led to a number
of environmental policy changes as well. As a result of the
Paraguay trade and environment assessment, for example, the
Ministry of Environment signed a voluntary agreement in 2005
with Soy producers stipulating improved environmental practices.
In Central America, the governments of Guatemala and Costa
Rica are now considering the recommendations of the 2004 OAS
trade and environment assessments on sustainable melon production
and looking to incorporate them as part of their national
strategies to improve market access and help comply with their
obligations under the Montreal Protocol. U.S.-LACEP support
for the OAS-FIDA program will end in 2007.
Click
here for further information on the OAS-FIDA trade and
environment program and for copies of LAC country environmental
assessments.
Energy & Cleaner Production
Since 2001, U.S.-LACEP has worked to reduce, prevent and
mitigate pollution by promoting the adoption of cleaner production
and energy efficient practices and technologies in LAC countries.
Through its support for the Inter-American Development Bank's
(IADB) Clean Energy Program, U.S.-LACEP has helped to identify
rural and renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
and to provide technical assistance to promote the development
of clean energy loans. U.S.-LACEP is presently leveraging
approximately $500 million in IADB renewable energy and energy
efficiency loans. In addition, U.S.-LACEP has been engaged
in the ongoing development of six village power and energy
efficiency loan agreements for Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, and Paraguay totaling $130 million. Design assistance
funded by USAID recently led to a $750,000 grant to El Salvador's
Ministry of the Economy for rural electrification. (See
IADB web site for more information on the project) In
all, U.S.-LACEP has helped launch IADB clean energy initiatives
in 11 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 2005, U.S.-LACEP leveraged funding from the National Chamber
of Industries, Bolivian Catholic Church, and Danish donor
DANIDA to support a waste exchange in Bolivia and strengthen
six recycling campaigns with local schools, municipalities,
NGOs, and hospitals and clinics. The U.S.-LACEP program helped
to train street youth in El Alto on how to collect and separate
waste to later be sold to recyclers or used in their own artisan
projects.
In Central America, U.S.-LACEP funded an evaluation of Panamanian
clean production activities and strategies which helped lay
the groundwork for the design and launching of a new cleaner
production center in Panama. U.S.-LACEP also collaborated
with USAID's Regional Environmental Program for Central American
to support the design and implementation of an energy efficiency
strategy by the Central American Commission for Environment
and Development (CCAD) as part of its regional program on
clean production in response to the on-going energy crisis
in the region. The CCAD strategy seeks to remove regulatory
barriers to, and promote private sector investment in, energy
efficiency and cleaner production. In addition, it will support
the development of energy service companies (ECOS) in Central
America and the Dominican Republic.
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