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

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(b)
(c)
Allocate financial, human and technological resources to strengthen the enforcement of
environmental laws and regulations and increase the costs of non-compliance
Increase the profitability of activities, sectors and technological choices that have a smaller
environmental impact and create or enhance incentives to promote them. Eliminate direct
or indirect subsidies for activities or technologies that damage the environment
Environmental criteria can be applied to public and private investment decisions, government
procurement, the emission of pollutants and access to natural resources, whether in the form of laws or
regulations or in the form of the costs of pollution and environmental degradation (charges for pollution
rights, access rights or royalty fees). 4 This would bring private or market costs more closely into line with
social or economic costs, thereby sending correct market or normative signals.
(d)
Encourage environmental and ecosystem protection by generating economic alternatives for
communities located in areas prone to degradation, in accordance with the cultural values
of each country and community
The social benefits of protecting the environment and biodiversity are generally greater than those
actually perceived by the private agents responsible for deciding whether to conserve or degrade the
environment. Environmental protection can be promoted by undertaking new activities that are based on
better knowledge and greater capacity for managing ecosystems. In the region, for example, countries
such as Costa Rica and Brazil have implemented systems of payment for environmental services.
Promoting <strong>sustainable</strong> tourism as part of a broader poverty-reduction and job-creation strategy
which includes training and targets women and young people in particular can also help to create a
virtuous circle between protection of the environment and ecosystems and job creation.
Special attention should be paid to establishing a system for accessing and distributing the
benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and relevant technologies given that the possession of
traditional knowledge is an income source for populations that conserve forests and related biological
diversity (United Nations, <strong>20</strong>10).
(e)
Create or adjust mechanisms such as royalties to channel resources into human capital training
and other sources of competitiveness to facilitate transformation of the production structure
In a region that is highly dependent on non-renewable natural resources, public policy should
seek to increase the capital available for its citizens. The loss of natural capital without a corresponding
increase in human capital, infrastructure and innovation will have an adverse impact on the well-being of
future generations. This is especially relevant in the mining and oil extraction sectors (see chapter I).
4
This can be accomplished, for example, by calculating the book values of pollutants. At the investment
evaluation stage, this would alter a project’s estimated profit ratio by providing an increasingly accurate
indication of its social and environmental costs.