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Environment Minister Agree to Declare Renewable Energy a “High Priority” Issue












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Environment Minister Agree to Declare Renewable Energy a “High Priority” Issue

The Preparatory Meeting of the 16thAnnual Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean concluded its work on Wednesday with a proposal that the Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean declare that renewable energy be regarded as an issue of “high priority.”

“We have considered the issue of bio-combustibles and of the renewable energy as a topic of high priority to be proposed to the environment ministers who are meeting this week in Santo Domingo,” affirmed Rafael Almonte, director of Sector Planning of the State Secretariat of Environment for the Dominican Republic, who presided over the work meeting.

The experts will propose to the environment ministers that a special emphasis be placed on this issue, with the understanding that together with environment benefits, health and food security for the people can also be added.

“We are talking about the possibility that the region can generate its own energy sources, not just generate a reduction of emissions that are harmful and add to the greenhouse effect, but rather that this generation of combustible fuel does not threaten our food and nutritional safety.”

He said the use of products that once were used for food production have risen so high thus causing the price of food to rise that the situation is putting people’s nutritional security at risk in many countries and regions in Latin America.

Other Issues

Other issues the experts put on the table for the ministers to discuss included the problem of solid waste, biodiversity, deforestation that is affecting more than 50 percent of the region, the vulnerability and risks associated with climate change, the relationship between health and the environment, bio-combustibles, the protection of coastal areas and resources in the face of climate change.

Mr. Almonte said the specialists identified the management of solid waste as one of the decisive actions to confront the deterioration of the environment in the region and he warned that over 40 percent of the waste generated in Latin America is not biodegradable.

“This waste, such as plastic and other dangerous substances, will be around for a long time in the environment…a hundred years, two hundred,” he said.

The experts are insisting, in addition, that communities should be aware of the benefits generated by the exploitation of their own natural resources but that they should put an end to the imbalance.

“Latin American is rich in natural resources which are being exploited and turned into merchandise to make products for sale while the communities of the region are not benefitting from what is being done with and made from their own biodiversity,” the experts observed.

According to experts, despite the wealth in natural resources, the communities in Latin America are not receiving the benefits from the use of their land and resources. They have called for the creation of international methods to guarantee that the local communities receive the benefits from the sustainable use of their resources.

On the issue of disasters, the experts insisted that their cause is related to climate change.

“The management of risk in the face of natural disasters, which are progressively becoming more and more intense, is also a problem considered by many to be an issue of top priority.”

Rafael Almonte added that other issues to be examined were the relationship between the deterioration of health and the environment.

“We have considered how the adverse factors, those linked to air quality and waste management, are impacting on human health.”

Date of Publication: February 1, 2008

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