Chapter 1: Regional Priorities and Drivers of Change
will require priority action. For many countries, especially the SIDS, environment negotiations are conducted by environment ministries which may be poorly coordinated with the ministries in charge of foreign affairs, finance and development planning which in turn may not be receptive
to commitments made by environment
ministries at negotiating tables; there remain deficiencies in the legal authority and institutional capacity needed for implementation and enforcement. These often result from the lack of or outdated regulatory legislative frameworks, as well as legislative uncertainties (UNEP 2012).
There remains the need for information at all levels for sound policy making. This was recognised in Agenda 21 chapter 40 and has been reiterated in subsequent international agreements on sustainable development. It is now especially the case with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which calls for a ‘data revolution’ going forward. It has been acknowledged that considerable data already exist, in public and private sectors, in universities, think-tanks and community groups. The perpetual challenge remains in developing improved mechanisms for coordination among environmental, demographic, social and developmental data and information activities. It also remains a challenge that within the environment sector itself information is often scattered and disaggregated. This impacts monitoring, data collection, and assessment, which affect accountability, and result in insufficient review mechanisms that could create incentives for performance and early action.
Mechanisms for effective participation by all the relevant stakeholders in policy development and decision making, especially by the marginalised, socially excluded and disadvantaged groups, are still more an exception than the rule. If this is rectified it could strengthen environmental management.
Environmental governance is also negatively affected by corruption, and the cost of corruption or mismanagement of public resources can be very high. Transparency International estimates that damage from corruption normally ranges
from 10 to 25 per cent of the contract value worldwide. The impact of corruption can be significant considering that public procurement transactions represent up to 20 per cent of GDP in LAC (OECD/IDB 2014).
1.3 Drivers of Environmental Change
The overarching economic trends discussed below demonstrate the dependency that LAC countries’ economies have on natural resources. On the other hand, the global financial crisis has been a critical driving factor in the region in that reduced financial flows have the potential to impact how the region responds to environmental degradation as well as reducing the total amount of financial resources available to environmental programming.
1.3.1 Economic trends
The export industries in LAC are based mainly on the use of the region´s natural resources (UNCOMTRADE 2015). Exports of goods and services have changed their relative importance over recent decades in the region: for example two decades ago in the Caribbean such exports accounted for 60 per cent; in 2013 they were around 40 per cent. Such exports have increased slightly in Mesoamerica and South America, currently around 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, compared to 37 per cent and 24 per cent in 1990 (Figure 1.3.1).
In the Caribbean, tourism, which is dependent on natural resources and, as described in Chapter 2, can have a direct impact on them, is a key source of foreign exchange earnings, together with financial services. In 2013, international tourism receipts were 45 per cent of total exports from the region, more than twice the amount earned by Mesoamerica and 9 times greater than South America (WTO 2015). In some countries, the dependency ratio is even greater. For example, the earnings from tourism were more than 80 per cent of total services exports in the Bahamas and Saint Lucia, and more than 70 per cent in Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Jamaica (IDB 2016).
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