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

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Indicators can help to raise awareness of the statistical information available to support decisionmaking
and draw attention to remaining gaps. In this instance, the region’s countries can draw on their
experiences in developing the indicators for the Millennium Development Goals and in formulating
regional <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> goals and follow-up indicators (see guideline 4, point (e)) under the
Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (ILAC), which was organized
under the auspices of the ministries of environmental affairs in the countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ECLAC.
Investments must be made in disseminating information, with a view to creating resources that
serve the purposes of different users, through reports, compilations and other materials, and that make use
of a variety of media, including the Internet. Examples of how this can be done include the
comprehensive environmental evaluations in the Global Environmental Outlook reports published by
UNEP and the steps taken by ECLAC to expand statistical capacity and make data available to the public
through the CEPALSTAT database.
The use of the Internet has helped significantly to make environmental information systems
accessible to a wider public, but additional efforts are needed to reach disadvantaged groups, rural
populations and indigenous communities with limited access to the Web.
Guideline 6
Formulate better policies based on a more informed, participatory process
As mentioned in chapter III, the region has made great strides towards establishing legal and institutional
frameworks to guarantee citizens’ access to information and justice and to mechanisms for citizen
participation in decision-making on the natural resources sustaining their communities. Nevertheless,
challenges remain.
For citizens to participate in an informed manner in such decision-making, countries must, as
established under guidelines 2 and 5, strengthen their capacity to produce, process and disseminate
environmental and <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> statistics and indicators at the national level. However, it is
not enough to extend the supply of strategic environmental information solely among decision-makers;
demand also has to be built up at a strategic level in each strata of society in order to guarantee the use of
the environmental information outputs (Quiroga, <strong>20</strong>05). Education therefore plays a key role in
developing citizen demand for more and better information and participation (see guideline 7). Promoting
leadership can also help to encourage citizens to demand their right to participate in decision-making
processes. In this context, encouraging women, indigenous and young persons to take on leadership roles
is therefore key to ensuring the <strong>development</strong> of inclusive policies that respond to the needs of groups that
are typically excluded from decision-making processes.
Providing access to information on the responsible use of resources, such as water, is the first step
towards raising public awareness and thus facilitating participation in resource management in line with
principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. In order to do so, reliable, relevant, objective, up-to-date information
has to be compiled and made readily accessible to ensure transparency. Such information helps people to
understand the issues and thus contributes to more effective management. Educating the public in this
respect can promote environmental values and help to strengthen public participation, which will, in turn,
contribute to priority-setting and the adoption of measures needed to achieve a <strong>sustainable</strong> form of natural