Plan_2010_2014_ENG

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Central AmericanEnvironmental Plan

PARCA2010 - 2014

Central American Commission for

Environment and Development

CCAD

November, 2009

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Central American Commission for Environment and Development - CCAD

Central American Environmental PlanPARCA 2010-2014

Editor:

Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD)

San Salvador, El Salvador, 2009.

Cover photograph: Juan Pablo Moreiras WB/CCAD

Design: ImpresionArte

Bibliography

Central American Integration System (SICA)Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD)Executive Secretariat of the

Central American Commission for Environment and Development

Address: Blvd. Orden de Malta No. 470,

Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad,

El Salvador. Telephone: (503) 2248-8800.

Fax: (503) 2248- 8894. www.sica.int/ccad - [email protected]

This document was published with technical and financial support from

the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID),

Spain/SICA Fund and the European Union through the Regional Program

for the Reduction of Vulnerability and Environmental Degradation

(PREVDA).

The contents do not reflect the opinions of the donors.

333.7

C733p Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD)

Central American Environmental Plan, PARCA: 2010 - 2014 /

sv Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD). - - 1st

ed. - - San Salvador, El Salvador: Central American Commission for

Environment and Development (CCAD), 2009.

36 p. : ill., tables, figures; 28 cm.

ISBN 978-99923-52-22-9

1. Environmental policy. 2. Environmental planning - Central America.

3. Environmental protection. I. Title.

BINA/jmh

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Central American Environmental Plan 2010 - 2014

Index

List of acronyms 4

Foreword from the President Pro Tempore 5

Foreword from the Executive Secretary of CCAD 7

Introduction 9

Context 11

General objective and strategic areas 16

Strategic areas, objectives and areas of action 18

Institutional arrangements 31

Follow-up and updates 35

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List of acronyms used in the document

ACICAFOC Asociación Coordinadora Indígena y Campesina de Agroforestería Comunitaria Centroamericana / Indigenous and Rural

Association for the Central American Agro-forestry Community

ALIDES: Alianza Centroamericana para el Desarrollo Sostenible / Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development

CAC: Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano / Central American Agricultural and Farming Council

CAPCRM: Central American Policy for Comprehensive Risk Management

CATHALAC: Centro del Agua del Trópico Húmedo de Latinoamérica y el Caribe / Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the

Caribbean

CCAD: Central American Commission for Environment and Development

CDM: Clean Development Mechanism

CEPREDENAC: Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de Desastres Naturales en América Central / Central American Coordination Center

for the Prevention of Natural Disasters

CITES: Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de Fauna y Flora Silvestres / Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

COMISCA: Consejo de Ministros de Salud de Centroamérica / Central American Council of Ministers of Health

COMMCA: Consejo de Ministras de la Mujer de Centroamérica / Central American Council of Ministers of Women Institutions

CRRH: Comité Regional de Recursos Hidráulicos / Regional Committee on Water Resources

CWRM: Comprehensive Water Resource Management

ECAGIRH: Central American Strategy on Comprehensive Water Resource Management

EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment

ES-CCAD: Executive Secretariat of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

GGE: Greenhouse Gas Effect

GS-SICA: General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System

GTZ: German Organization for Technical Cooperation

INBio: Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad de Costa Rica / National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica

IRBIO: Instituto Regional de Biodiversidad / Regional Biodiversity Institute

ITTO: International Tropical Timber Organization

IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature

MBC: Mesoamerican Biological Corridor

MRS: Mesoamerican Reef System

MSES: Mesoamerican Strategy on Environmental Sustainability

OSPESCA: Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano / Central American Fishing and Aquaculture

Organization

PACAGIRH: Central American Plan for Comprehensive Water Resource Management

PARCA: Central American Environmental Plan

PERCON: Regional Strategic Program for Connectivity

PERFOR: Regional Strategic Program for Forest Eco-system Management

PERTAP: Regional Strategic Program for Protected Areas

PREVDA: Program to Reduce Vulnerability from Environmental Degradation

PROMEBIO: Regional Strategic Program for Biodiversity Monitoring and Evaluation

PUEMBO: Puembo Initiative to Foster Dialogue on Latin America and Caribbean Forests

REDD: Reduction Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

REDD-CARD Reduction Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Program in Central America and the Dominican Republic

RSAH: Regional Strategy on Agro-environment and Health

RSCC: Regional Strategy on Climate Change

SEA: Strategic Environmental Assessment

SIAM: Mesoamerican Environmental Information System

SICA: Central American Integration System

SIECA: Central American Secretariat for Economic Integration

SISCA: Central American Secretariat for Social Integration

SITCA: Central American Secretariat for Tourism Integration

STRI Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

TC: Technical Committee

TRAFFIC Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network

UCE-SICA: Energy Coordination Unit at SICA

UNCBD: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

UNCCD: UnitedNationsConventiontoCombatDesertifcation

UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

WB/FLEG: World Bank Forest Law Enforcement and Governance

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Foreword from

the President Pro Tempore of CCAD

Since the Central American Commission for En-

vironment and Development (CCAD) was cre-

ated 20 years ago, it has forged a path, showing

significant progress in establishing cooperation

for integrated environmental management and

regional policies, as part of the Central Ameri-

can Integration System (SICA, for its name in

Spanish). Given the transversal nature of its

mission, CCAD has established joint agendas asa regional institution, involving other key actors,

such as Central America’s civil society orga-

nizations, academic and scientific institutions,

strategic partners and international cooperation

agencies.

CCAD has received international recognition as

a specialist in environmental policies, which is

reflected by its participation as an observer to

the United Nations Social and Economic Coun-

cil and the Conventions on Climate Change and

Biological Diversity. CCAD has organized andinstitutionalized a Donor Forum, established

specialized Technical Committees and regional

centers and formed strategic alliances with

many institutions.

Internally, CCAD has worked hard on its plan-

ning processes, elaborating joint annual opera-

tions plans, and beginning in 2004, internal

regulations to facilitate operations and effective-

ly respond to the institutionalism and challenges

presented by the Central American Environmen-

tal Plan (PARCA, for its name in Spanish).The first PARCA was published in 1999 and

built capacity to face the region’s environmental

challenges. The second PARCA (2004-2009)

defined strategic areas, specific objectives,

results and indicators to face environmental

challenges; it focused on forming and validating

regional policy mechanisms.

PARCA 2010-2014, presented here, focuses

on environmental governance using a manage-ment model based on the implementation of

and compliance with environmental policies;

it emphasizes working jointly with institutions

using SICA’s Long-term Plan. This PARCA

centers around two areas of action: policy

implementation to achieve transversal environ-

mental management and institutional coordina-

tion to influence public institutions to play a

role in environmental integration. CCAD will

offer technical support and management, related

to its direct responsibilities of helping national

environmental authorities, especially on envi-ronmental quality management, natural resource

management and climate change adaptation

measures.

This PARCA incorporates two new support

mechanisms: the Financial Support Mechanism

for Environmental Integration, as a financial

tool to help national environmental authorities

apply PARCA and other environmental instru-

ments locally, and the Regional Observatory

for Environmental Implementation and Com-

pliance, which is a specialized policy tool thatwill provide the Council of Ministers and others

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with up-to-date and timely information to make

decisions related to regional and international

environmental policy agendas.

Undoubtedly, PARCA is an important planninginstrument to guide CCAD operations regionally

and internationally, seeking to strengthen and

facilitate joint coordination and building syner-

gies to support regional environmental integra-

tion and sustainable development in Central

America.

Jorge Rodríguez Quirós

Minister of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications for Costa Rica President Pro Tempore of CCAD

July-December 2009

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Foreword from

the Executive Secretariat of CCAD

The third Central American Environmental Plan

(PARCA III) is a five-year strategic instrument

that will add value to the region’s environmen-

tal management. PARCA III will help member

countries implement national and regional

environmental management tools and promote

the development of agreements and coordina-

tion mechanisms to incorporate environmental

topics in the agendas presented by the Central

American Integration System (SICA) and other regional entities responsible for industry poli-

cies and strategies.

PARCA III was developed with the region’s

environmental authorities in order to create a

new management framework focused on apply-

ing and complying with environmental poli-

cies, which were developed during the first and

second phases of PARCA.

This new Plan is based on the Tegucigalpa Pro-

tocol, which consolidated the Central American

Integration System and established several

fundamental principles, including: gradual, spe-

cific, and progressive development, “based on

the promotion of similar and balanced regional

development, equality and reciprocity, and

special treatment for member countries with

relatively lower levels of development,” (Art. 4,

Subsection E).

We firmly believe that this Plan’s success will

depend on our ability to put these principles

into practice, while recognizing each country’s

particularities and diversity, so that we can

gradually overcome the current asymmetries

found in our region.

This means we must continue to identify and

strengthen alliances and synergies among SI-

CA’s member countries and with other regions.

This will allow us to work in areas of common

interest through the strategic objectives andareas of action presented in this PARCA.

We are sure that by the end of these five

years, we will have been able to promote these

strategic guidelines focused on environmental

governance. Our end goal is to have permanent

projects and programs that serve priority areas

in order to build joint agreements and action

plans that will allow us to have greater impact

with international donors.

Lastly, this third phase of PARCA presents the

creation of two new tools: a Regional Observa-

tory for Environmental Implementation and

Compliance and the Financial Support Mecha-

nism for Environmental Integration. The first

will help anticipate areas of risk and provide

up-to-date and timely information for environ-

mental policy-making. The second will provide

financial support to national environmental

authorities implementing PARCA and other

mechanisms developed by SICA’s environmen-

tal entities.

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We continue to believe that we can rethink how

to build a Central America that is capable of

generating answers, not only in the environ-

mental area, but also related to social, economic

and cultural issues, leading us closer to sustain-

able development.

Roberto Rodríguez Rojas

Coordinator a.i.

Executive Secretariat

CCAD

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I.

Introduction

The Central American Environmental Plan

(PARCA) is the main mechanism used by the

Central American Commission for Environment

and Development (CCAD) to coordinate actions.

CCAD was created in 1989 to develop “a regional

cooperation agenda for the optimal and rational

use of natural resources, to control pollution and to

establish ecological equilibrium in order to guar-

antee a better quality of life for Central American

inhabitants” (Constitutional Convention, Art. I).

CCAD’s Constitutional Convention is also theregion’s first environmental policy, whose objec-

tives are set forth in Article II:

To add value and protect natural resources;

foster collaboration among countries to develop

and adopt sustainable development initiatives;

To promote coordination for the optimal and

rational use of natural resources, to control pol-

lution and to establish ecological equilibrium;

to fundraise and access regional and interna-

tional financial resources;

To strengthen natural resource management in

•

•

•

the countries; to promote compatibility with en-

vironmental policies and legislation in national

development planning processes;

To determine priority areas of action and

promote participatory, democratic and decen-

tralized environmental management in the

countries.

This Convention was initially signed by the

Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,

Honduras and Nicaragua. Later, Belize, Panamaand the Dominican Republic signed, and Mexico

became an observer.

The first PARCA was presented in 1999 for the

2000-2004 period. It focused on creating the

Central American Alliance for Sustainable Devel-

opment (ALIDES, for its name in Spanish) and

began consolidating CCAD. PARCA II, which is

currently in effect, was written for the 2005-2009

period. It presented a logical framework for envi-

ronmental management development mechanisms

and to establish joint regional alliances.

•

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This third PARCA, for the 2010-2014 period, is

based on achievements made by CCAD and its

member countries implementing the two previous

Plans. It will help them respond to future obstacles

and challenges. The main purpose of the third

PARCA is to add value to regional environmental

management and support countries to implement

environmental management mechanisms devel-

oped during the two previous periods and comply

with commitments made in regional and interna-

tional agreements.

The following figure illustrates how the plans’

focuses have evolved, responding to the needs

presented during different points of CCAD’s

consolidation and making its long-term vision and

objectives reality, as expressed in the Constitu-

tional Convention and ALIDES.

This document provides a brief description of thecontext in which PARCA was updated for the

2010-2014 period, the general objective and the

strategic areas of this period, the strategic objec-

tives and foreseen actions for each strategic area,

and the institutional arrangements that will serve

as the basis for implementation.

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II.

Context

In its almost twenty years of existence, CCAD has

achieved regional and international recognition as

an organization promoting regional and environ-

mental cooperation and coordination, as presented

in its Constitutional Convention. CCAD’s pro-

grams and projects have resulted in policies, strate-

gies and agreements helping to resolve some of the

region’s greatest environmental challenges.

After creating the Central American Alliance for

Sustainable Development, all of the countries in

the region named environmental authorities at thecabinet level and have implemented regulatory

and institutional frameworks to serve as the basis

for effective environmental and natural resource

management. In addition to developing national

and regional institutions, legislation and policies,

CCAD’s member countries have stayed active

signing multilateral environmental agreements and

attending different international forums address-

ing the main environmental problems affecting

humanity.

Despite this progress in the area of policies and

implementation mechanisms, the region faces

great challenges due to economic growth and glob-

al dynamics, while trying to resolve environmental

problems associated with poverty. Its valuable

natural resources and environmental quality are

threatened locally, by unorganized urban develop-

ment and unsustainable production, and globally,

by climate change.

In terms of natural resources, most countries

– except El Salvador and the Dominican Republic

– have more than a third of their territory covered

by forest. However, according to data from the

United Nations, between 1990 and 2005, more

than 50,000 km2 of forest wer lost, and deforesta-

tion rates in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador

were among the highest in Latin America.

In order to find solutions to these problems,

CCAD launched an ambitious initiative at the

end of the nineties, the Mesoamerican Biological

Corridor (MBC), with the support of international

and civil society organizations. With this program,

and others related to sustainable natural resource

management, CCAD has helped countries approve

policies, strategies and regional plans related to the

conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity,

as well as the management of protected areas, for-

est eco-systems, wetlands and water resources.

The 2008 State of the Region Report recognized

significant progress made strengthening legal,

institutional and political frameworks to manage

protected areas and address key issues, “by explor-

ing different and new ways to achieve citizen

participation;” however, it also stated that there are

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still many challenges, especially related to current

area size (83% are less than 15,000 hectares),

weak institutionalism, a lack of resources, social

issues, territorial zoning, population growth and

unsustainable production.

Even though Central America has experiencedgood precipitation levels and is blessed with

superficial and subterranean water sources, water

resources are not distributed equally. A lack of

comprehensive management and growing extrac-

tion rates indicate several countries, especially El

Salvador, will face serious shortages in the next

decade. Some parts of Costa Rica and Guatemala

could also face shortages in the medium-term1.

Most member countries of SICA have taken

important steps to increase access to potable water

and basic sanitation; however, despite this prog-

ress, most water resource management projects,

up through the last decade, focused on providing

goods and services for use (potable water, irriga-

tion, hydro-electric generation) and lacked a vision

of sustainability. Less than 25% of domestic and

industrial run-off is treated. As a result, 75% of su-

perficial water sources are polluted and vulnerable.

Even though water is one of the region’s most

valuable, and most threatened, resources, and

numerous initiatives have been implemented by

national governments, international organizations

1 Central American Strategy on Comprehensive Water

Resource Management, June 2009 draft.

and civil society, all of the region’s countries

have governance problems that prevent them from

developing more comprehensive management. The

water sector lacks clear policies; has out-of-date,

dispersed and insufficient legislation; and doubles

efforts and roles among public, private and ex-

ternal institutions, supervisors and implementers,making water resource management and decision-

making at the policy level difficult2.

As a way to integrate and strengthen national

efforts, CCAD, CRRH and several other re-

gional institutions have promoted the creation of

regional policy and strategy mechanisms, such

as the Central American Plan for Comprehensive

Water Resource Management (PACAGIRH, for

its name in Spanish), the Central American Strat-

egy on Comprehensive Water Resource Manage-

ment (ECAGIRH, for its name in Spanish) and

– more recently – the Central American Water

Convention.

Originally, these mechanisms were not properly

coordinated and integrated; therefore, the offices

forming part of SICA’s environmental entities,

with the support of international and regional

institutions, began and successfully completed

a process to align and integrate the Convention,

Strategy and Plan, into what is now called the

Central American Plan for Comprehensive Water

Resource Management (PACAGIRH, for its name

in Spanish). These mechanisms will be approved

by the respective institutions in the second half of

2009, forming a coherent framework to support

regional institutionalism – including CCAD – for

integrated water management.

In terms of environmental management, the

region faces serious problems with air, water and

soil contamination, caused by a combination of

population growth and increased urbanization,

ineffective regulations and institutions and limitednational and local governmental resources to

provide basic services to all residents. Pressure

from population growth and urbanization influ-

ences the region’s environmental management

systems, as seen by the increased presence of solid

2 Central American Strategy on Comprehensive Water

Resource Management, June 2009 draft.

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and liquid waste products and growing vehicular

traffic, which is the main cause of air pollution in

the region. The agricultural sector uses insecticides

and highly toxic substances excessively.

In order to respond to these challenges, during

the past five years CCAD has helped elaborateimportant public policies, such as the Regional

Program to Prevent and Control Environmental

Contamination, regional policies on Chemical Se-

curity and Comprehensive Solid Waste Manage-

ment, and regional strategies on Comprehensive

Solid Waste Management and the Prevention

and Decrease of Contamination. In addition, it

has worked to improve and homogenize environ-

mental impact assessment systems and elaborate

guidelines for strategic environmental assess-

ments (SEAs), as tools to insert environmental

considerations into regional and national policies,

programs and plans.

Important national and regional efforts have been

made to promote improved environmental man-

agement in the private sector, especially through

the Regional Cleaner Production Program. This

Program included the development of an envi-

ronmental accreditation model with the national

cleaner production centers and a series of four

Regional Awards for Environmental Innovation

and Cleaner Production.

As a result of these efforts, and the maturity of

external and internal markets with consumers

who are more aware of the importance of envi-

ronmental responsibility, the number of compa-

nies that have certified their environmental man-

agement through independent certifications has

grown in the past five years, especially in Costa

Rica. Despite these achievements, however, the

overall amount is still small when compared to

the total number of companies operating in each

country.

In addition to its internal environmental issues,

Central America also faces problems from the

impacts of global climate change, which threatens

the viability of its eco-systems and its inhabitants’

ways of life. Despite its minimal contribution to

greenhouse gas emissions, the region is one of the

most vulnerable in terms of the impact of climate

change because of its geography and economic

and social issues.

Due to this situation, the Presidents of SICA’s

member countries approved the Guidelines for

the Regional Strategy on Climate Change in

May 2008. These Guidelines include very clear mandates for national and regional institutions

to work on strategies and plans that will reduce

the region’s vulnerability and promote adaptation

to climate change, as well as take advantage of

opportunities to participate in global mitigation

efforts through international carbon markets.

As in the other mentioned areas, the region’s main

challenge with respect to climate change is the

creation of public policies and national strategies

that lead to concrete and coherent actions and syn-

ergies. This represents a key challenge to finding a

common vision and developing new ways to work

while seeking solutions that appropriately integrate

all aspects of sustainable development.

Discrepancies and

asymmetries among

policies and the

region’s environmen-

tal reality, clearly

demonstrate the fact

that environmental

problems cannot be

resolved indepen-

dently of economic

and social develop-

ment processes. On

the contrary, environ-

mental considerations

should be included in

decision-making for

all economic, social

and political actors.

This means that policy-makers must

go from a sector-

specific approach - a

remnant of the past -

to one seeking coher-

ency and coordination

among all sectors and

actors.

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The transversal nature of environmental manage-

ment, both nationally and regionally, means that

new institutional arrangements are needed so that

actors can share visions and coordinate efforts at

all levels and stages of developing, designing and

implementing policies, plans and programs. Like-

wise, new tools are needed to help decision-mak-ers receive the information they need to develop

a comprehensive vision to solve the region’s

economic, social and environmental problems.

Policy-makers also need financial resources to ap-

ply these policy and management tools effectively

and comply with commitments made in regional

and international agreements.

The need to have better coordination and coheren-

cy among different regional and sector policies has

become apparent in SICA, where the Presidents

have mandated a modernization and institutional

strengthening process to achieve more efficient re-

source use and operational effectiveness. This has

led the organization to review its organizational

structure, and it has reinforced the importance of

its environmental entities and has created impor-

tant opportunities for dialogue and coordination

within the system.

During 2009, the creation of the Long-term Plan

at SICA helped advance regional integration by

providing coherency and coordination within the

institution. In this Plan, the system’s environmen-

tal entities (CCAD, CEPREDENAC and CRRH)

presented objectives, challenges and common ar-

eas of action for the following three years in order

to incorporate environmental considerations, water

resource management and comprehensive risk

management for natural disasters more effectively

in the agendas of SICA’s other entities.

This Long-term Plan – presented in the Presiden-

tial Summit – establishes as the environmental

entities’ objective: to consolidate a comprehensiveapproach among sectors in regional management

for sustainable development through institutions

and tools, sharing common policies and planning

with a clear orientation toward implementation

and compliance, as well as contributing to the enti-

ties’ efforts at SICA to promote social equality,

governance, economic growth and comprehensive

environmental, water resource and risk manage-

ment.

With this objective, the Plan establishes the fol-

lowing policy priorities:

Strengthen coordination and communications

mechanisms and tools among the environ-

mental entities using common agendas and

agreements.

Intensify efforts to strengthen institutionalism

at the Secretariats and specialized entities.

Adopt water and risk reduction policies and put

into practice the identified financial and institu-

tional mechanisms.

Articulate, align, update and approve the

environmental entities’ regional strategies and

plans.

Define a Regional Strategy on Climate Change

based on the Guidelines approved during the

Presidential Summit on Climate Change and the

Environment in Central America and the Carib-

bean in May 2008.

Identify Central American criteria in order to

establish specific risk, water resource and envi-ronmental coordination and management.

The creation of this third PARCA has coincided

with and been integrated into the process to align

regional mechanisms – with a shared vision – and

provide tools to environmental entities for envi-

ronmental, water resource and risk management,

as well as incorporate these topics into national

•

•

•

•

•

•

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and regional development policies. It is expected

that these tools will be presented at the Presiden-

tial Summit in December 2009.

PARCA 2010-2014, as used by the environmen-

tal entities at SICA, incorporates the objec-

tives, challenges and priorities presented in theLong-term Plan in a comprehensive manner.

It also complements these areas with CCAD’s

guidelines and action areas and its interaction

with other SICA entities, as described in the fol-

lowing sections.

PARCA is a strategic plan that presents strate-

gies, objectives and priority areas of action for

the following five years. Details of these activi-

ties, responsible parties, resources and progress

indicators will be included in the Annual Opera-

tions Plans that will soon be prepared by the

Executive Secretary of CCAD.

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III.

General objective

and strategic areas

As indicated in the previous section, the first

PARCA established the principles, concepts and

strategic areas needed to position and institution-

alize an environmental agenda regionally and

nationally. The second PARCA provided policy

development tools to help promote the region’s

environmental integration. Once this positioning

and development had been achieved, the challenge

to apply and comply with the agenda remained.

This required strengthening the environmentalinstitutions and the effective incorporation of

environmental management as an integral part of

development policies and sector approaches, both

regionally and nationally.

Therefore, the third stage of the Plan should take

the lessons learned from the first two phases and

focus on developing institutional, regulatory and

financial arrangements that allow policy tools

to be implemented effectively in national envi-

ronmental institutions and at SICA. This third

PARCA should take advantage of the opportuni-

ties and synergies presented while formulating the

Long-term Plan at SICA and strengthen the work

done by the associated environmental entities.

Considering this, PARCA 2010-2014 seeks to

move the region from limited environmental man-

agement to an expanded form that incorporates

public policy and allows each institution to assume

environmental responsibilities through its man-

dates, policies and programs.

Consequently, the main objective of the Plan is:

To make value added regional environmental

management a reality, supporting countries

as they apply national and regional environ-

mental management tools, and promoting the

development of agreements and coordination

mechanisms to incorporate environmental

considerations in the agendas of SICA and

regional institutions in charge of sector policies

and strategies.

In order to comply with this objective and based

on expanded environmental management, PARCA

2010-2014 establishes two areas of action for

CCAD:

Policies to make environmental management

and inter-institutional coordination transver-

sal in order to influence public institutions

to assume environmental responsibilities by

providing them with the necessary technical

support.

Technical support from the Central American

Commission for Environment and Develop-

ment related to supporting environmental

authorities with direct responsibilities, espe-

cially in the areas of environmental quality,

natural resource management and climate

change.

Based on experiences from the past few years, this

new regional and strategic planning effort seeks to

move from a project-based approach to one of stra-

»

»

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1

tegic programming, in order to avoid operational

dispersion and concentrate efforts in areas key to

the region. Therefore, the first strategic area of ac-

tion relates to the incidence and transversal nature

of environmental policies in regional agendas. The

second action includes three strategic and techni-

cal areas: natural resource management, managingenvironmental quality and climate change and risk

management.

For each one of these three technical areas, an

emblematic program should be identified to guide

actions and projects and concentrate efforts. The

natural resource management area emphasizes the

Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, to align forest,

biodiversity and protected area management and

establish natural connections between these areas.

It also presents an environmental perspective for

zoning and territorial management.

Environmental quality brings together the Re-

gional Program to Prevent and Control Environ-

mental Contamination and PROLEGIS, which was

implemented during the last PARCA. The purpose

of PROLEGIS is to improve environmental quality

management in the areas of emissions, dumping

and waste products. The purpose of this area is to

strengthen cleaner production that is compatible

with appropriate levels of competitiveness for na-

tional economies and complies with international

environmental commitments, while improving

environmental legislation and standards.

In the area of climate change, efforts center around

building and applying the Regional Strategy on

Agro-environment and Health (RSAH) and the

Regional Strategy on Climate Change (RSCC),

using the guidelines established in the May 2008

Presidential Summit in San Pedro Sula. In order to

manage risk and apply these strategies, both public

and private sectors must make a social pact and

become involved, and new institutional arrange-ments must be made to create national policies

with broad citizen support.

In addition, during the next five years, PARCA

seeks to elevate the role of CCAD in building

regional environmental policies, by creating two

new support tools to apply these policies nation-

ally within the framework of PARCA’s objectives

and the environmental entities’ Long-term Plan:

The Financial Support Mechanism for En-

vironmental Integration is a financial tool

that will establish a fund managed by the Ex-

ecutive Secretary for national environmental

authorities to apply for financing to help them

implement PARCA and other tools developed

by the environmental entities at SICA. This

fund will also be a new mechanism to access

financing and spark policy dialogue with

international cooperation agencies.

Regional Observatory for Environmental

Implementation and Compliance is a spe-

cialized policy tool for the Council of Min-

isters and other officials to access up-to-dateand timely information to make decisions,

especially related to regional and internation-

al environmental policy agendas.

The operations and structure of these two tools

within the organization is detailed in Section V of

this Plan.

Finally, it is important to note that the Plan consid-

ers the following transversal topics. These topics

have been adopted by CCAD during its years of

experience and form the basis of the organization’s

work:

Promoting sustainable development

Comprehensive vision for environmental man-

agement

Social participation

Social equality

Multiculturalism

Gender perspective

Decentralized environmental management

Efficient and effective environmental manage-

ment

Reduction of social and ecological vulnerability

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IV.

Strategic areas,

objectives and areas of action

The following sections describe the strategic areas of PARCA 2010-2014 with its strategic objectives and

corresponding areas of action, using the general objective and strategic focuses presented in the previous

part. The expected result at the end of the five years of implementation is presented for each strategic area.

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Strategic Area 1.

Environmental governance:

the incidence and transversal nature of regional policies

Result

Regional environmental management tools are integrated and become part of national policies and sector

agendas presented by the different entities at SICA.

Strategic objectives

1.1 Strengthenimplementationofandcompliancewithregional

environmentalpolicytools

Areas of action

Review and update regional agreements related to environmental management (conservation of

biodiversity and protected areas, climate change, transporting hazardous materials over borders and

natural forest eco-system management and conservation).

Align policies, strategies and regional programs for subsequent implementation and compliance.

Work together with COMCA and SISCA to incorporate gender and multicultural focuses when

creating, reviewing and implementing regional environmental policy tools.

Develop appropriate structures to implement regional tools.

Create, promote and strengthen the Regional Observatory for Environmental Implementation and

Compliance and the Financial Support Mechanism for Environmental Integration.

1.2 Promoteanenvironmentalfocusandinter-institutional

coordinationinallactions

Areas of action

Foster communication and coordination among the pertinent regional institutions in order to assure

that environmental issues are considered in other regional agendas.

Comply with the Long-term Plan developed by the environmental entities at SICA.

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Promote the creation of an Environmental Policy at SICA.

Support the implementation of regional mechanisms that incorporate environmental topics in

industry development, such as the Regional Strategy on Agro-environment and Health (RSAH), the

Mesoamerican Strategy on Environmental Sustainability (MSES), the Central American Policy on

Environment and Health, the Regional Strategy on Sustainable Energy and the Central American

Strategy on Housing.

1.3 Promotecitizenparticipationandpublic/privatepartnerships

Areas of action

Promote mechanisms that assure the participation of men and women from civil society in deci-

sion-making and the implementation and evaluation of environmental policies.

Promote the formation of public/private partnerships to assure the sustainability of environmental

management.

Promote equal, fair, differentiated and effective participation of women, indigenous peoples and

African descendents in CCAD’s mechanisms and programs.

Promote a regional agreement on accessing information, equal and fair public participation in deci-sion-making and access to justice in environmental issues.

Facilitate the creation and strengthening of regional networks and the incorporation of new civil

society and private sector actors.

Support the creation and dynamics of participatory mechanisms presented in regional policy and

planning tools.

1.4Strengtheninternationalpolicymanagement

Areas of action

Strengthen CCAD’s strategic analysis capabilities on global, regional and national issues in order

to more effectively support environmental authorities with their tasks.

Promote the participation of CCAD in negotiations of Central America’s policy and commercial

agreements with other blocks to guarantee the inclusion of pertinent environmental topics.

Identify and take advantage of synergies to strengthen negotiation capacity and compliance with

the principal multilateral environmental agreements.

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Elaborate a regional environmental policy with the participation of men and women from different

sectors and create a negotiation block for international forums in which environmental topics will

be discussed.

Establish strategic alliances with other blocks of countries.

1.5Promoteeffectiveandcoherentinternationalcooperation

management

Areas of action

Apply the Paris Agenda principles in dialogue and negotiation with member countries and different

international cooperation agencies.

Support international cooperation agencies in developing strategies that respond to the real challen-

ges faced in the Central American region.

Provide constant follow-up on the lifecycle of regional projects financed by international coopera-

tion agencies.

Guarantee the efficient use of resources from international cooperation agencies and national and

regional counterparts.

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Strategic Area 2.

Strengthening national

institutionalism and quality environmental management

Result

Environmental authorities in the member countries will have access to regional policy tools and apply the

model tools that have been developed in regional programs nationally in order to strengthen their capacity

to incorporate environmental topics in their countries.


2.1 Modernizeandstrengthenenvironmentallegislationand

standards

Areas of action

Develop the Regional Environmental Legislation and Policy Program.

Update and integrate environmental legislation in the region with a focus on diversity and gender

and based on economic, social and political changes stemming from the global financial crisis,

climate change and more than a decade of experience implementing current legislation.

Promote the development of a Central American system for objective responsibility for environ-

mental damages with concrete actions in each of the CCAD countries and by coordinating with

what has been established in other regional mechanisms.

Strengthen judicial institutions overseeing environmental conservation and quality.

Elaborate a proposal to improve direct control and regulation mechanisms in order to align the

region’s socio-economic efficiency, effectiveness and realities.

Update and integrate technical standards on emissions, dumping and waste in the region’s coun-

tries.

Develop legal and institutional frameworks for territorial zoning, with a focus on diversity and

gender.

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2.2 Promoteinter-institutionalarrangementstostrengthennational

environmentalmanagementsystems

Areas of action

Build capacity of national environmental authorities.Promote institutional arrangements that avoid the duplicity and dispersion of powers and efforts

related to environmental management at the national level.

Promote institutional frameworks that allow for holistic, comprehensive and efficient environmen-

tal management.

2.3 Strengthenenvironmentalassessmentsystems

Areas of action

Continue efforts to improve the efficiency of EIA in the region.

Add technical, computer and conceptual tools to EIA to increase their preventive capabilities.

Promote the application of strategic environmental assessment tools for policies, plans and progra-

ms that will be developed in key sectors, both regionally and nationally.

Promote the development and application of evaluation tools to measure synergic, accumulative

and differentiated impacts.

Promote the implementation of a common certification and registration model for environmental

service providers.

2.4Promoteeffortstoreducecontamination

Areas of action

Promote the Regional Convention on Environmental Quality Management Indicators and Stan-

dards and its implementation in undersigning countries.

Establish regional goals to reduce dumping, emissions and waste products and adopt mechanisms

to force countries to meet them.

Implement a Regional Registry of Contaminating Emissions and Transfer.

Maintain a regional system to constantly evaluate environmental quality management systems

through the Regional Observatory for Environmental Implementation and Compliance.

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2.5 Promotecleanerproductionandsustainableconsumption

Areas of action

Work together with SIECA and other SICA entities to support national and regional institutions to

coordinate and articulate activities related to sustainable production and consumption (SPC).

Promote abilities and skills for change agents of SPC (people, institutions, providers and consu-

mers), with a focus on diversity and gender

Promote a SPC approach for public policies in the member countries.

Promote the use of incentives for SPC in the member countries (through voluntary agreements,

awards, tax breaks, etc.).

Promote the use of environmental sustainability criteria in public procurement processes.

2.6 Promotetheuseofeconomictoolsinenvironmental

management

Areas of action

Develop regional and legislative models to incorporate economic and voluntary tools in environ-

mental management.

Contribute to capacity-building in areas needed to present economic tools in environmental mana-

gement.

Develop capacity to calculate an economic value for environmental damage.

Promote the use of homogeneous economic tools to decrease dumping, emissions and waste.

Promote the development of an environmental quality certification system for products to guide

consumer preferences.

2.7Strengthenurbanplanninganddevelopmenttools

Areas of action

Promote better environmental planning and

zoning throughout the countries of the region.Elaborate and promote a regional policy on the

use of environmental variables for territorial

zoning, with a focus on diversity and gender.

Develop and promote strategic environmental

assessment methodologies for urban planning

and territorial zoning.

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Strategic Area .

Natural resource and priority eco-system management

ResultThe Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) concept will have been presented to institutions and com-

munities in the region as a central focus of development based on the sustainable management of natural

and cultural resources.


3.1 Promoteconservationandthesustainableuseofbiodiversity

Areas of action

Update and implement the Regional Strategy on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiver-

sity in Mesoamerica.

Integrate or align regional policy tools related to biodiversity (PERFOR, PERCON, PROMEBIO

and PERTAP).

Develop and implement mechanisms to monitor regional and national commitments within the

framework of UNCBD and its work programs.

Rework the Mesoamerican Environmental Information System (SIAM, for its name in Spanish)

and incorporate it within the Regional Observatory for Environmental Implementation and Com-

pliance and promote connections to other regional centers, such as IRBio/Zamorano, STRI/Pana-

ma, INBio/Costa Rica, CATHALAC and others.

Promote and foster the use of mechanisms to calculate economic values for payments for envi-

ronmental services and fundraising, considering the particularities of each gender and different

indigenous people and local communities.

Promote synergies and inter-institutional coordination for the effective implementation of multila-

teral environmental agreements on related topics, such as CITES, UNCCD, RAMSAR and others.

Align and coordinate international cooperation agency programs and activities related to natural

resource management in the region.

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3.2 ReintroducetheMesoamericanBiologicalCorridor(MBC)

Areas of action

Present the achievements of the MBC regional program and promote an exchange of successful

experiences.

Host a regional meeting for national environmental authorities, key UNCBD representatives, civil

society organizations and industry associations, academic institutions and international organizatio-

ns on a new, strategic MBC program.

Design a second phase for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor for the medium and long terms

and incorporate transversal topics across all sectors (water, marine/coastal resources, mitigation

and adaptation to climate change, risk management and cultural diversity, among others) and a

clear link to industry strategies (energy, agriculture, health,

housing, tourism) with inclusive planning that recognizes the

needs of men, women, different indigenous people and local

communities.

Design an appropriate institutional framework for the new phase of the MBC using regional and programmatic guide-

lines, standards and priorities that reflect national and local

asymmetries and capacities.

Develop mechanisms for private sector participation in the

region in efforts related to the MBC.

3.3 StrengthentheMesoamericansystemofprotectedareas

Areas of action

Develop regional guidelines to create, strengthen and provide financial sustainability to national

systems of protected areas.

Develop governance mechanisms for the Mesoamerican system of protected areas.

Identify strategic national projects to link with the UNCBD’s work plan on protected areas.

Provide capacity-building in technical, administrative and financial areas to manage the region’s

protected areas.

Support consolidation efforts for the Cacao Corridor, led by ACICAFOC.

3.4 Promotecoherentpoliciesandgovernanceforforesteco-systems

Areas of action

Analyze existing regional and strategic proposals to form a comprehensive regional proposal on

inclusive policies and governance for forest eco-systems (PUEMBO, GTZ REDD/CARD, WB/

FLEG, FAO, and ITTO).

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Elaborate a new regional strategy on forestry governance based on progress with PERFOR and its

links to other industry initiatives, considering the different needs of men and women.

Create a regional policy on illegal logging and trade in coordination with TRAFFIC.

3.5 Promotecomprehensivewaterresourceandsharedwatershedmanagement

Areas of action

Support the implementation of regional tools for comprehensive water resource management:

Water Convention, ECAGIRH and PACAGIRH.

Support the creation of and strengthen regional institutionalism for the Water Convention, which

promotes and monitors ECAGIRH and PACAGIRH.

Develop regional guidelines for a protocol on shared watersheds and border commissions, using

mandates from the Water Convention ECAGIRH and PACAGIRH.

3.6 Strengthenmarine/coastalresourceandsharedmarineeco-

systemmanagement

Areas of action

Appropriately connect sustainable coastal/marine resource management efforts with the MBC and

other initiatives related to terrestrial eco-systems.

Establish regional priorities for marine/coastal eco-system conservation, including an expansion of

marine protected areas as part of national protected areas systems and the consolidation of marinecorridors.

Develop regional guidelines for comprehensive watershed and coastal area management (ridges to

reef) to decrease terrestrial sources of marine contamination.

Work together with OSPESCA to create regional guidelines for an agreement on sustainable fis-

hing.

Work with SIECA and SITCA to create regional guidelines to limit the environmental impact of

tourism and port infrastructure development in coastal areas, in consultation with national authori-

ties and with the participation of men and women from different indigenous people, local commu-

nities and all involved industries.

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Strategic Area 4.

Adaptation and mitigation for

climate change and comprehensive risk management

Result

Citizens and governments in the region will be aware of the threats and opportunities of climate change and

decrease their vulnerability to natural disasters, promoting adaptation and reducing greenhouse gas effects,

based on the Regional Strategy on Climate Change.


4.1 Reducevulnerabilityandpromoteadaptationtoclimate

change

Areas of action

Support industry associations in the evaluation of vulnerability and implementation of adaptation

measures, with a focus on diversity and gender, in the most vulnerable socio-economic sectors,

such as health, agriculture, water resources, tourism, energy and infrastructure.

Support CEPREDENAC in developing, applying and verifying the vulnerability indicator system.

Work with related SICA entities to bring together planning and financial sectors to incorporateadaptation to climate change in their industry plans and priorities for public investment, with a

focus on diversity and gender.

Present considerations related to adaptation to climate change in environmental impact assessment

(EIA) systems, strategic environmental assessments (SEA) and other tools related to environmental

management, bearing in mind the specific needs of both men and women.

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4.2 Promotegreenhousegasemissions(GGE)reductionsandtake

advantageofopportunitiesinthecarbonmarket

Areas of action

Promote the implementation of programs to overcome barriers presented when developing GGEmitigation projects and commercializing emissions reductions certificates.

Support UCE-SICA and national energy authorities to implement the Regional Strategy on Sustai-

nable Energy.

Support the pertinent authorities in evaluating measures to promote energy sustainability in the

transportation sector.

Strengthen regional and national efforts to manage forest eco-systems, watersheds and coastal/ma-

rine eco-systems sustainably, based on mitigation and adaptation to climate change efforts and

differences between men and women.

Promote new mechanisms to compensate for emissions reductions in the forestry and agricultural

sectors, especially within the framework of Reduction Emissions from Deforestation and ForestDegradation (REDD).

Support pertinent authorities in identifying, evaluating and implementing measures to develop

more effective mitigation in the agricultural, industrial and waste management sectors.

Promote considerations related to GGE mitigation in environmental impact assessment systems and

other tools related to environmental management.

4.3 Promotecapacity-buildingandknowledgemanagement

Areas of action

Establish programs to strengthen international negotiation skills in the area of climate change for

authorities from environmental, foreign relations and other related institutions.

Promote the development of common methodologies, with a focus on diversity and gender, and

build capacity among men and women to evaluate vulnerability to variation and climate change.

Facilitate coordination among CEPREDENAC, CRRH and other regional research centers, natio-

nal offices on climate change and associated national and regional institutions to develop studies on

climate change.

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Garner support from international cooperation agencies to develop systems to monitor marine/coas-

tal resources and generate information on developing climate change adaptation plans and measu-

res for coastal communities and fishing and tourism activities.

Promote the systematization and diffusion of successful experiences in adaptation and mitigation

from countries in the region.

Provide follow-up to the Central American Study on the Economics of Climate Change and work with pertinent institutions to strengthen national and regional capacity to analyze the economic

impact of climate change.

Establish a training plan on the topic of climate change in all sectors for regional and national

government and non-governmental organizations.

Promote mass education and awareness about climate change and introduce the topic into curricula

at all education levels, citing consequences based on gender, ethnicity, sector, and others.

Promote capacity-building to obtain financial resources from GGE mitigation projects (CDM,

REDD and voluntary markets).

4.4 Promotecomprehensivenaturaldisasterriskmanagement

Areas of action

Support the General Secretariat of SICA and CEPREDENAC in implementing the Central Ameri-

can Policy for Comprehensive Risk Management (CAPCRM), the Strategic Framework to Reduce

Vulnerabilities and Natural Disasters in Central America and the Regional Plan to Reduce Natural

Disaster Risk, within the framework defined by SICA’s environmental entities.

Develop, within the framework defined by SICA’s environmental entities, regional financial instru-

ments for risk management and preventing associated risks for national, regional and international

insurance companies.

Promote considerations for comprehensive natural disaster risk management and adaptation to

climate change, with a focus on diversity and gender, in territorial zoning processes and instru-

ments, natural resource management, urban development and priority areas for public and private

investment.

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V.

Institutional arrangements

Over the years CCAD has consolidated its identity

as an institution that “…promotes regional integra-

tion in the area of environmental policy-making”

(PARCA I, pg. 1). Beginning in 1997, CCAD was

included in the first restructuring of SICA, as a

regional institution with the mandate to coordinate

SICA’s environmental entities and oversee the

GS-SICA’s Environmental Office.

CCAD’s recognition as a relevant regional and

international actor has meant that most of its work during the past decade has been geared toward cre-

ating, administrating, supervising or implementing

international cooperation projects, and that most of

its personnel have been financed by these projects.

This extreme dependence on international donors

has created a complex tension among SICA’s

institutional identity, country demands and the

objectives of the donor projects. Personnel from

the Office of the Executive Secretary at CCAD

must – at the same time – follow and implement

decisions made by the Council of Ministers and

respond to the needs of SICA’s General Secretari-

at, while paying attention to the commitments and

obligations the organization has with its donors.

In order to apply the approaches presented in

PARCA 2010-2014, CCAD, as a facilitator guid-

ing compliance with regional agreements and the

implementation of regional and national environ-

mental mechanisms, requires ideal institutional ar-

rangements at the Executive Secretary and policy

decision-making levels.

Politically, CCAD must create a sleek structure

that allows it to provide technical support needed

to implement decisions made by the Council of

Ministers and to follow-up on mandates given by

the Executive Secretary. This will be facilitated bystrengthening the Connecting Committee, simpli-

fying the Technical Committees and creating the

Regional Observatory for Environmental Imple-

mentation and Compliance to provide information

for strategic decision-making.

By strengthening the Connecting Committee and

creating three Technical Committees – one for

each strategic area of work and instead of the 13

existing ones – CCAD will be able to provide

comprehensive regional coordination instead of

isolated interventions in a large number of areas.

The work of the three Technical Committees,

including senior level officials from each member

country in each strategic area, will be comple-

mented by help from ad-hoc expert committees

that will be created when a special need arises, but

will not form a permanent part of CCAD’s organi-

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zational structure.

In terms of the Observatory, it is important to

clarify that this entity is not a unit within the orga-

nizational structure, but rather a specialized tool at

the ES-CCAD level to support policy-formation

among the Council and environmental authorities, by providing timely and trustworthy information

for analysis and reflection on the environment and

issues that affect environmental management. One

fundamental part of the Observatory will be the

Mesoamerican Environmental Information System

(SIAM, for its name in Spanish), which will be

updated with data from national environmental

information systems (SINIA-SIA).

The following figure shows the policy-making

entities and their relationships:

This graph presents the political relationships

internally at CCAD – among the Council, the

Committees, the Observatory and the Executive

Secretary – at SICA’s environmental entities and

at SICA, in general. SICA, and its environmentalentities, are needed to implement actions described

in Section III of this document and develop the

areas of action in Strategic Area I of PARCA.

The graph shows the Observatory to emphasize

its importance as a new and specialized policy

tool, which is based on analyses of international,

regional and national situations and will provide

the Council of Ministers and other actors with the

information they need to make decisions.

In order to define an ideal organizational structure,

the role of the Executive Secretary was analyzed.The Executive Secretary must act as a technical

entity that implements political mandates received

from the Council of Ministers, coordinates pro-

cesses to strengthen and institutionalize environ-

mental management in the region and leads CCAD

programs. The following table presents a summary

of this analysis.

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Function/area of work Required structure/officials

1. Council of Ministers of Environment

2. Oversee the environmental areas of GS-SICA

3. Coordinate the environmental entities at SICA

4. Make sure environmental considerations are inclu-ded in SICA’s industry agendas

Executive Secretariat, mainly political/economic repre-

sentation and coordination

Management support for daily administration

5. Promote natural resource management

6. Promote quality environmental management

7. Promote risk management and attention to climate

change

Technical Offices

These offices are responsible for strategic and area

management.

All cooperation projects and processes will be managed

by these offices/technical areas to avoid individual pro-

ject management.

Technical and strategic monitoring for cooperation pro-

cesses

8. Manage project cycles

9. Capacity-building for members

10. Strengthen SICA institutions

Administration and Finance Section

Responsible for administrative operations, reporting and

monitoring management in cooperation processes.

Specific consulting projects to support members and

technical managers

Using this analysis, the Executive Secretary,

with support from his or her office, oversees

a structure with two sections that coordinate

strategic programs and provide administrative,

financial and logistical services necessary to im-

plement, follow-up and evaluate those programs.

The following figure shows the new structure,

whose operations are described in detail in the

corresponding Operations Manual

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When analyzing this proposed structure with the

strategic areas, it becomes apparent that the Execu-

tive Secretary, with support from the Financial

Support Mechanism for Environmental Integration

and following the mandates handed down by the

Council of Ministers, is directly responsible for implementing the actions listed in Strategic Area

1. The Office of the Executive Secretary will pro-

vide support, such as legal, communications and

public relations services, among others, to assure

compliance with the mandates.

Like the Observatory, the Financial Support

Mechanism for Environmental Integration is not

an organizational unit, but rather a specialized tool

to support national environmental authorities when

applying PARCA guidelines and other environ-

mental mechanisms locally, based on requests

related to specific areas of work and with previ-

ously-defined financial support, monitoring and

control.

This tool will be established as a fund, which

will be managed by the Executive Secretary of

CCAD with an independent committee governed

by official regulations. This committee will award

funding to institutions that have submitted ap-

plications and are part of each country’s environ-

mental management system to finance projects

that are supported by the respective environmental

authorities and whose purpose is to apply regional

mechanisms locally.

Each one of the three strategic areas – environ-

mental quality, natural resources and climate

change – is administered by a management office,

which reports directly to the Strategic Program

section. The purpose of this section is to help the

Executive Secretary integrate all activities related

to CCAD’s second area of action.

Resources from international cooperation agen-

cies may continue to be managed by projects, but

the hope is for each project to be integrated within

the institutional structure, under the supervision of

one or more offices, depending on the exact topic,

rather than forming parallel structures that disperse

resources and do not contribute to CCAD’s overall

vision. This will be an important point in negotia-

tions with international cooperation agencies that

support and strengthen regional environmental

management.

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VI.

Follow-up and updates to the plan

Since this is a strategic plan, it has been designed

for a period of five years. Its strategic objectives

and areas of action will become guidelines for

CCAD’s Executive Secretary and international co-

operation programs that contribute to compliance

with established indicators, which are currently

being implemented to develop annual operations

plans. These strategic objectives and areas of ac-

tion will also help define future activities that can

be financed by other donors.

Therefore, at least one result indicator should be

defined for each strategic objective in PARCA’s

strategic areas. A result indicator is one that must

be complied with throughout the period of the

Plan, or in this case, from 2010 to 2014. The result

indicators should concretely define how they will

be verified, their risks and any assumptions made

for compliance. However, monitoring compliance

with result indicators (every five years) should be

done using process indicators (verified annually),

to evaluate how the annual operations plans helpsupport compliance with PARCA.

Once monitoring and evaluation has started on the

results of the operations plans, CCAD’s Executive

Secretary will prepare annual progress reports on

PARCA, which will be presented to the Council of

Ministers in the first regular meeting of each year,

beginning in 2011.

In the first half of 2014, CCAD’s Executive Secre-

tary will evaluate compliance with PARCA based

on annual progress reports, an analysis of the cur-rent situation and considering regional and global

perspectives. This evaluation will serve as the

basis for elaboration of PARCA 2015-2019, which

will be presented to the Council of Ministers in the

second half of 2014.

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