SEDI - DDS - Departamento de Desarrollo Sostenible de la OEA

SEDI / DDS - Departamento de Desarrollo Sostenible

MISSION

The Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) supports OAS member States in the design and implementation of policies, programs and projects oriented to integrate environmental priorities with poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development goals. Translating sustainable development and environmental protection goals into concrete actions, DSD supports the execution of multiple-country projects in such diverse areas as integrated water management renewable energy, land-titling, biological diversity and environmental law and policy. The Department also supports transparency and Public Participation, as practical ingredients of good governance.
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Recent policy mandates emanated from:

•	The First Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High Level Authorities of Sustainable Development (Santa Cruz +10) in 2006,
•	the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002,
•	the meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS) in Washington DC, in 2002,
•	the III Summit of the Americas held in Quebec City, Canada, in 2001, and
•	the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in 1996.

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Recent work involves supporting sub-regional trade-related capacity-building; improving the sound management of chemicals; identifying innovative ways to support public participation and good governance; and identifying workable partnerships in the financing of sustainable development.
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RECENT INITIATIVES & OUTCOMES

DSD inventory of maps

Since the mid-1950s, the Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) has worked with member countries to address natural resource management, environmental protection and risk reduction in natural disasters. As baseline information, geological, soil, land use, and vegetative cover surveys were prepared by DSD for the member States. Today, the DSD is custodian to some 1,600 maps that provide invaluable historical information regarding hydrological characteristics, average rates of precipitation and river discharge rates, indigenous forest type and coverage, and other data which has various applications, including in helping countries model climate change impacts and climate adaptation plans, as well as reforestation and land-use planning. (An inventory of maps held by the DSD can be accessed by clicking here.)

The UN Climate meeting in Bali highlights the importance of historical records so that developing countries could calculate, for example, their average forest cover loss over time, in order to work out potential benefits from avoided deforestation. One action plan calls for compensation for reduced greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and protection of standing forests. More...

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Recent DSD Meetings

•OAS General Assembly focusing on “Energy for Sustainable Development”

•Workshop on Environmental Assessment and Capacity Building for Free Trade. |Panama | Dominican Republic.

• Forum on Protected Areas for the Amazon in Venezuela

•First InterAmerican Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development. Santa Cruz, Bolivia. More...

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NEWS

• DSD Caribbean Chief Attends Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) Meeting in Belize. More...
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• DSD supports the 12th International Conference on environmental Law: Climate Change, Sustainable Energy and Biodiversity. Sao Paolo. June 1-5, 2008.
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• OAS Request for Proposals!! "Technical and Policy Assistance for Biofuel Market Development in Dominican Republic and El Salvador" Follow this link. More...
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• Request for Proposals for Data Creation under IABIN Project. More...

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• Guarani Aquifer System Project | December report

CALENDAR

January, 29-31, 2008. Panama. IABIN Executive Committee / IABIN Secretariat / Organization of American States. Building the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) Project. More...
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February, 11-16, 2008. Panama. Strategic Approach to International chemicals Management. More...

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March 04-06, 2008.(WIREC) Washington International Renewable Energy Conference. More... l Please follow this link to provide your feedback via a Virtual WIREC Consultation.

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March 10-14, 2008. IABIN – IWCAM. Biodiversity informatics workshop focusing on marine issues for the Caribbean region. More..

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• Past events >>