In the context of the XXII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latina America and the Caribbean organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the government of Barbados on past February 2021, a set of concrete decisions were taken including the commitment to tackle all forms of pollution.
The ministers agreed on an integrated approach to address the threat of pollution in the region and to progressively eradicate inappropriate final waste disposal practices guided by the proposed Roadmap for the progressive closure of dumpsites in Latin America and the Caribbean. The roadmap is the product of the work of ISWA General Secretariat, the ISWA taskforce on Closing Dumpsites, UNEP, ABRELPE, ARS and other external contributors. It includes a set of technical, environmental, economic, and social inclusion considerations to transition to better-engineered solutions for the management of waste.
On the 25th of June, the Roadmap for the Progressive Closure of Dumpsites in Latin America and the Caribbean was officially launched at a high-level event as the result of the work of the Voluntary Coalition of Governments and Relevant Organizations. A mechanism created in 2018 within the framework of the Forum of Minister of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean. Present at the event were ISWA’s President Carlos Silva Filho, Piedad Martin – Director of UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean, Fernando Lopez – Minister of Environment from El Salvador, and Sergio Federovisky – Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development from Argentina, amongst other notable speakers.
The Roadmap presented is designed for national and sub-national governments to adapt to their particular circumstances. Its implementation over the next decade will guarantee a healthy environment for future generations, in line with the commitments established in the framework of the 2030 Agenda.
View the roadmap here (available in both English and Spanish).
