Rio Principle 10 Pilot Projects in Central America

Following requests from governments in the Central American region, three country projects to develop a National Profile and Action Plan to strengthen the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration were implemented in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Honduras in 2007-2008. With funding provided by the Government of Spain additional projects were initiated in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama in 2009.

The projects seek to provide a better understanding of and strengthen existing capacities for participatory environmental governance, taking into account national and local needs and circumstances. They were implemented in coordination with the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The projects in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Honduras were completed in 2008. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama organized National Planning Workshops during the third quarter of 2009, bringing together more than 200 participants, and finalized their National Profiles in the course of 2010.

Targeted Follow-up Training
Taking into account priorities and capacity needs identified through the National Profile and Action Plan projects, UNITAR supports targeted training and skills development for selected priority areas in 2010-2011. In Costa Rica, for example, UNITAR is currently supporting a project that aims at reinforcing the participation of local stakeholders in environmental quality management through a series of workshops at the local level.

For additional information on the Central American pilot projects please refer to the Project Information Note available in Spanish and English from our publications page.