Report on the Meeting of the Intergovernmental Network on Air Pollution in Latin American and The Caribbean
Panama City, Panama
25 to 27 of March 2009
UNEP/LAC-IGNAP/4
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Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Background
III. Objective of Meeting
IV. Participation
V. Meeting Opening
VI. Introductory Seminar
1. Global and regional trends on air pollution
2. The impact and cost of air pollution at local, regional and global level in Latin America and the Caribbean.
3. Air pollution at regional and local level.
4. The Transport Sector
5. Biomass Burning
VII. Intergovernmental Meeting
1. Welcome and Introduction
2. The Forum of Ministers’ Mandate on the Network creation
3. International Experience of Intergovernmental Networks on Air Pollution. The Role and Objectives of the Network.
4. National and Bilateral Programs. Regional Priorities.
5. Definition of priorities by sub-region
6. Final considerations.
7. Summary of the discussions
UNEP/LAC-IGNAP/4
Page 1
I. Introduction
Last 25th to 27th of March, in the City of Panama, the first Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Inter-Governmental Network on Air Pollution was carried out. This meeting was organized by the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, with the support of the Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum.
On the first day of the meeting an informative seminar was held with the participation of many governmental representatives and experts from organizations dedicated to the issue of air pollution, from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as from other regions. This seminar included various topics such as the global and regional trends in regards to air pollution, its effects on health, the needs in regards to this in the Latin American and Caribbean region, the transport sector and pollution, and biomass burning among other issues.
Subsequently, the interventions of the representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean countries took place, where a series of priorities and actions were determined and decided to be carried out by the Network with the support of UNEP and the Global Forum.
This meeting responds to the mandate of the XVI Forum of the Latin American and Caribbean Environment Ministers, which agreed to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Network on Air Pollution.
II. Background
Air pollution in the Latin American and Caribbean region constitutes a problem which should be faced regionally, aiming the promotion of alternatives, solutions and concerted actions through mechanisms such as South-South Cooperation.
To this effect, the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and Caribbean (ROLAC), as Technical Secretary of the Forum of LAC Environment Ministers strongly endorses the adoption of concrete actions in order to reduce the levels of air pollution and of the adequate prevention measures specifically required in certain cases and regions.
The Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC), which is part of the World Summit Action Plan on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg Summit) and which was approved at the XIII Session of the LAC Forum of Environment Ministers, considers as one of its guiding objectives, the problem of air pollution and the need of actions in order to reduce the polluting emissions in the air, the emissions of CO2 and number of vehicles, among other measures.
In the month of August 2007 was carried out in the City of Panama the Meeting of High-level Governmental Experts, as one of the preparatory activities in view of the XVI Forum of Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean.
At this meeting, the issue of air quality was discussed with the participation of the representatives of the Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum, stressing the need of progress in Latin America and the Caribbean in regards to concrete actions on the problem of air pollution; the absence of a regional initiative on the issue was acknowledged, the reason why the proposal of “the adoption of a declaration by the Forum of Ministers on air pollution, which could include a network of governmental institutions responsible of the issue”[1], was accepted.
Also, within the framework of this meeting, the issue of Fuel Quality Improvement was discussed including the need of measures in this sense, such as the lowering of sulphur content in fuel and the associated benefits for human health. The fact that, in most countries of the region, the polluting emissions come from the public transport system was outlined.
Regarding this, it was also suggested that a proposal be made and forwarded to the Forum of Ministers, in accordance with the ILAC guidelines.
The XVI Meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Environment Ministers was held at the beginning of the year 2008 in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, five years after the approbation of ILAC.
Among the decisions adopted at this Forum, relevant to the issue of air pollution in the region, Decision 7 is worth mentioning as it recognizes the increase of air pollution at regional level, mainly concentrated in urban areas and negatively affecting the health and quality of life of the population. Equally stressed is the need of updated quality technical information in view of the carrying out of diagnostic and impact evaluations.
The incidence of the pollution levels caused by transport activities is also acknowledged, especially urban transport, as well as by the levels of sulphur in fuel. The need to adopt and combine new and cleaner technologies was stressed.
As such the recommendation of a Latin American and Caribbean Network was adopted, on the integration of the authorities responsible of the air pollution issue and also on technical exchange, training, alternatives on pollution reduction, and the application of a regional action plan.
Another decision adopted at the past XVI Forum of Ministers in the Dominican Republic (Decision 8) refers to advocating for the improvement of the quality of fuel, through the use of clean fuel and vehicles with less emissions, in accordance with the established aims of the UNEP Alliance for Clean Fuel and Vehicles.
By this decision, is acknowledged that one of the most efficient ways to face the problems of air quality in cities and greenhouse gas emissions is through cleaner fuel and more efficient vehicles. It is recommended that the issue of the improvement of fuel and vehicles be one of the priorities of the Forum of Ministers in regards to Health and Environment.
The success already achieved due to the measures adopted on the withdrawal from the LAC market of leaded gasoline and the reduction of the sulphur content in fuel is the reason why advocating will be pursued, aiming 50 parts per million of sulphur, with special emphasis on countries with problems of air quality in their urban areas.
III. Objective of Meeting
The first main objective of the Meeting of the Intergovernmental Network on Air Pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean was the fulfillment of the mandate received from the XVI Meeting of Forum of Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in the City of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from January 27th to February 1st, 2008.
At this meeting, with the adoption of Decision 7, an agreement was reached on the integration of a regional authorities’ network on the issue of air pollution, aiming: "the carrying out of technical exchange, the promotion of training and capacity building, the evaluation of options on the reduction of air pollution during the period 2008-2009 and the articulation of actions together with the Inter American Network on Air Quality, within a determined timetable. It also includes the coordination of other actions with regional and sub-regional initiatives promoting joint complementary work on the issue".[2]
Another relevant decision which also led to the objectives of the Intergovernmental Meeting is Decision 8 by which is advocated: " the improvement of the quality of fuel in view of protecting the health of the population, with clean fuel and vehicles with technologies generating less emissions", whereby is requested the reduction of sulphur content in fuel.[3]
IV. Participation
At the meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Intergovernmental Network on Air Pollution participated governmental representatives from twelve Latin American and Caribbean countries, representatives from the Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum, from the Stockholm Environment Institute, from the Clean Air Initiative and also many well-known experts on air pollution from Latin America and the Caribbean. The list of participants is annexed to this document.
V. Meeting Opening
At the opening session, Ms. Mara Murillo, Regional Deputy Director for the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean addressed the participants. During her intervention, Ms. Murillo stressed the importance of the problem of air pollution in the region, also mentioning the continuous commitment of UNEP on determined actions in view of a decrease of the levels of air pollution in the region, one of these actions being the creation of the Latin American and Caribbean Intergovernmental Network on Air Pollution.
Next, Mr. Harley Mitchell, representing the Panamanian National Environment Authority and host of the meeting, underlined the importance of this problem in the region, mentioning particularly the case of Panama. He also welcomed to Panama all those attending the meeting.
Immediately after, Mr. Richard Mills of the Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum addressed the meeting, mentioning his satisfaction of being able to participate in the constitution of this network in Latin America and the Caribbean region together with UNEP and other organizations dedicated to the issue. He mentioned similar initiatives supported by the Global Forum elsewhere in the world, the challenges, and opportunities, the need to strengthen international cooperation and the role of the Global Forum and other organizations, among other issues.
On March 25th, an Introductory Seminar was carried out, during which experts and organizations from various countries, at global and regional level, explained and discussed different issues linked to the problem of air pollution.
On the following days, March 26th and 27th, the Intergovernmental Meeting was held.
VI. Introductory Seminar
The Introductory Seminar was carried out on March 25th, lasting all day, during which experts from various organizations, academic institutions and others dedicated to investigation spoke on current issues of interest related to air pollution.
1. Global and regional trends on air pollution
The first presentation on this subject was given by Kevin Hicks from the Environment Institute of Stockholm, who emphasized the actual main global tendencies on air pollution. He explained the main sources and types of polluting agents and how these can vary from one region to another, referring also to the growth of large urban centers, the rural migration into cities and the consequent excessive number of cars worldwide, including in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Polluting agents were pointed out by sector, such as transport, energy, industry, farming and domestic-related, and the impact of such pollution on human health and on the performance and productivity of the different ecosystems worldwide.
Among the main conclusions was emphasized the need to carry out actions on the prevention and control of their impact on health and the environment, and on integrated initiatives on climate change and air pollution, and in general the urgency in regards to these actions to go from an evaluation level to their application.
Afterwards, on the same subject, the participants listened to the presentation of Sergio Sanchez from the Clean Air Institute, who lectured on the “Panoramic Vision of the Forces Determinant of Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean”. During the presentation, he mentioned the fact that at world level, Latin America and the Caribbean represent one of the most urbanized regions in the developing world, with the result of increasing levels of air pollution in urban areas as well as in others.
The slow development at the regional level, of renewable energy sources was mentioned, pointing out the great potential these offer as alternative sources of energy for Latin America and the Caribbean. A greater use of these could be increased through incentive measures, some of which are in process of elaboration and others already being applied in the region.
Finally, the fact that the transport sector is the main source of air pollution was emphasized, due mainly to the increasingly larger number of vehicles regionally, with its consequences on human health.
The following presentation was offered by Victor Gutierrez from the National Environment Research and Training Institute (CENICA) of Mexico, who explained some of the tendencies in regards to air pollution in Latin America and Caribbean, including a detailed description of the expertise at CENICA, its lines of investigation and possible collaboration on activities linked to air pollution in the region.
He mentioned also the situation in the region where a large number of individuals suffer from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases due to air pollution. Equally emphasized was the need to increase throughout the region the capacities on monitoring processes and on reliable data collection, the possibility to use the monitoring experience of countries such as Brazil, Chile, the United States of America and Mexico and the financing needed for these tasks. He concluded by saying that the problem of air pollution is affecting practically all cities in LAC and that it is urgent to develop institutional capacities on air quality monitoring, adding that every country in the region should update or define its air quality norms and that South-South cooperation should be strengthened.
2. The impact and cost of air pollution at local, regional and global level in Latin America and the Caribbean.
At this meeting Eliane Ignotti, from the Matto Grosso State University in Brazil, explained the direct impact on health and cost related consequences of air pollution in the Amazonian region. During her intervention, she pointed out that between the years 1970 and 1980 the fact that atmospheric pollution seriously affected human health had been recognized everywhere. She referred to research carried out in this sense in the City of Mexico, in Santiago in Chile, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre, and in Buenos Aires, Lima and San Juan in Puerto Rico.
In the case of the Amazonian basin, she mentioned the effect of forest fires on air pollution and how the consequences not only affect the burning and burn-out area, but also distant urban areas, with all the consequences on human health and ecosystems.
After this presentation, Luis Cifuentes, from the Catholic University of Chile, explained the economic cost of air pollution in LAC. The results of some studies were mentioned, such as the one carried out by PAHO, on the effects on health of air pollution in LAC.
The ESCALA Project was also mentioned (Study on Health and Air Pollution in Latin America), a research project which began in 2006, including Brazil, Chile and Mexico, on impact on death rate by causes, gender and socioeconomic position. The final report of this project is expected at the end of this year.
Next, some estimates were presented on the economic loss due to air pollution in LAC and the benefits on health which would result from a reduction of the pollution levels in the region.
At the end of his presentation, Mr. Cifuentes provided some examples and data on the City of Santiago in Chile in regards to stationary and mobile air pollution sources and also of others, such as firewood combustion, the burning of fields and machinery emissions. Also examined was data on cost-benefit analyses, in the case of Chile.
3. Air pollution at regional and local level.
This session was set on the actions that are being carried out in LAC in view of reducing the air pollution levels, and on needs, challenges, and opportunities.
Ramiro Barrios, Director of the Quality of Air at the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat in Mexico, gave a presentation on the Air Quality Management Programs in Mexico. He explained their institutional and legal normative framework in regards to the issue of air pollution including the monitoring networks established nationally and the progress made regarding their integration.
He explained the National Inventory of Polluting Emissions, which is being carried out with the support of the Environment Cooperation Commission of North America and USEPA. Its publication is programmed for the year 2010 and updating will be every three years.
Regarding the Air Quality Management Program, better known as PROAIRE, based on the evaluation of air quality and emissions, it includes strategic outlines and actions aiming the lowering of polluting emissions and the training of local management capacity.
The issue of transport and air quality was also referred to, including the vehicle inspection programs and among others, the Clean Transport Program.
The following intervention was offered by Hans Willumsen, of the Chilean National Environment Commission, who referred to Air quality Management in Chile and to the elements that should be taken into consideration in view of adequate management; the primary and secondary standards of air quality for Chile were described.