 This joint strategy is a response to the increasing demand of local and national authorities to reduce urban environment degradation in the very urbanised Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LAC). In the Region, Environmental degradation affects primarily the poor and its characterised by strong vulnerability to environmental hazards and severe impacts on public health.
The strategy builds on experiences developed by both agencies in urban environment planning and management. It is supporting municipalities/cities in preparing urban-environmental assessments, based on the UNEP GEO Cities Programme and its methodology assessing the state of the urban environment. During this phase, UNEP will assume the leadership in supporting the preparation of GEO City Reports in order to supply local governments, policy-makers and the public in general with reliable and up-to-date information about the urban environment, thus providing a foundation on which to base policy-making. This, in turn, will help to strengthen national and local capacities to continuously monitor the state of the urban environment.
Visit UNEP LAC Geo City site
Once the environmental assessment of the city had been completed, the support will concentrate on improving urban planning and management processes by: selecting priority issues, identifying strategic options; formulating urban-environmental action plans to be included in municipal and physical planning; and implementing such plans. During this phase, given its experience, UN-HABITAT will play a central role. The experience gained in more than 60 cities all over the world through the Localising Agenda 21 and Sustainable Cities Programmes will be strategic. This experience will be made available to local and central governments in the region by providing technical support and tools needed to support urban environmental planning and management processes.
Visit the site of the UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
This strategy, which is shared by the two United Nations organizations responsible for urban development and the environment, is financed partly with resources from both agencies in the form of seed money that will be used to complement national and local funding. This strategy enhances cooperation between national and municipal governments. It also allows national ministries responsible for the urban sector and the environment to establish or strengthen their cooperation and joint efforts, thus providing better support to municipalities. This strategy is also conceived to offer an attractive framework for regional funding mechanisms and for attracting bilateral and multilateral donors interested in supporting a concerted initiative on the urban environment in Latin America and the Caribbean that will help reducing urban poverty.
Leer la Estrategia Regional UN-HABITAT – PNUMA en español
Gostaria de ler a Estratégia Regional do UN-HABITAT - PNUMA em português
Leer el plegable sobre la Estrategia Regional UN-HABITAT - PNUMA
The strategy, which was agreed upon at the beginning of 2004, is currently implemented in 3 countries ( Brazil , Peru and Cuba ). In each country 3 to 4 cities are supported and will serve as a basis for further replications. New countries will join in the future.
Read more about Brazil activities
Read more about Peru activities
Read more about Cuba activities |
