sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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The dynamic on which these data are based is complex. The Earth Summit gave a strong boost to
the environmental pillar —which in the early 1990s was less developed than the other two pillars of
<strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> (economic and social). Since then, the region’s environmental legislation and
institutions have been strengthened and the concept of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> has been mainstreamed
into many public policies and business activity (see chapter II).
Nonetheless, no notable change has occurred in the <strong>development</strong> model to support simultaneous
advances in the social, economic and environmental dimensions. Thus, despite some achievements, the
region has not managed to reduce inequalities in any significant way, to eradicate poverty or to decouple
environmental pressures from economic growth. There are still many people living in poverty without
access to basic utilities —including those defined as human rights, such as access to environmental
health, water and sanitation, and housing— with serious implications for the security of the region’s
inhabitants. Lack of access to these services, compounded by wide disparities in access to education, and
hence to the labour market, mean that the characteristic inequality of Latin America and the Caribbean
also renders disadvantaged groups more vulnerable to the effects of local and global environmental
deterioration. Gender gaps and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, age and geographical location
accentuate the disadvantages faced by large segments of the region’s population. This situation increases
the vulnerability of these groups to climate-related and other disasters. During the period 1970-<strong>20</strong>10,
floods and storms accounted for almost 70% of disasters recorded in the region leaving a toll of more than
467,000 deaths, an average of 4.5 million persons affected each year and estimated losses in the order of
US$ 160 billion. 5 Disadvantaged groups are also vulnerable to diseases caused by exposure to toxic
products, garbage, polluted water and air, among other things; and the deterioration or scarcity of natural
resources and water on which their survival depends.
Urban <strong>development</strong> in the region in the past few decades has brought about improvements in
income, health care, education, access to basic services, life expectancy and access to consumer goods (see
chapter I). This has occurred, however, against a backdrop of asymmetries and inadequate planning which
expose human security and the quality of life of the inhabitants of large urban centres in the region to
disaster risks (80% of disasters are reported in urban areas) (ISDR, <strong>20</strong>11), levels of air pollutions that exceed
even national standards, situations of grave insecurity in the face of violence, and inefficient transport
systems that lead to commutes lasting several hours. The marked inequalities observed in urban areas in
terms of access to, and the quality of, basic services such as water supply, sanitation, housing, health,
electricity and waste collection and disposal are magnified in large metropolitan areas (see chapter I).
The region has not succeeded in narrowing the productivity gaps that exist in relation to developed
countries; and it has been unable to adapt its productive structure, which still relies heavily on naturalresource-intensive
sectors (ECLAC, <strong>20</strong>10). Given the lack of effective environmental management
mechanisms and a regulatory framework making it possible to reflect the value of the environment in
economic decisions, it will be difficult to establish a trend in which growth can occur without
environmental degradation.
The way in which wealth and public and private investments are measured for accounting
purposes has frequently resulted in the overuse of environmental assets and natural resources, in
conjunction with solutions that prioritize the short term and deplete assets that are essential for the
<strong>development</strong> of future generations in the region, such as water resources, biological diversity, soil
5
Figures based on records maintained by the international Emergency Disasters Database (EM-DAT) for the
countries of the region and on the impacts of geological and hydro-meteorological threats. Biological and
technological threats were not taken into account.