Canada-Costa Rica environment agreement: reports

Fact Gathering Mission on Innovative Instruments of Environmental Management - July 5 - 16, 2004

Environment Canada and Unisféra (an independent environmental research center) participated in a fact gathering mission on the design, use and effectiveness of innovative environmental instruments in Costa Rica as well as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The information gathered centered on:

1. the types and flexibility of environmental tool boxes currently in use in Central America;
2. the processes and methodologies to design various instruments, with a particular focus on their operational character given the institutional weaknesses and resources scarcities of the region;
3. lessons learned on the performance of the various instruments given the environmental objectives they are intended to help fulfill; and,
4. areas of potential future cooperation which would transfer Canadian and international best practices to Central America in areas such as economic instruments, compliance promotion initiatives and enforcement practices.

This mission was designed to gather information which will be used to develop a report on the subject matter and a discussion paper. These will be used during a capacity-building workshop scheduled for November 2004.

First Public Meeting of the Parties under the Canada - Costa Rica Agreement on Environmental Cooperation - June 11, 2004

On June 11th 2004, the signatory Parties to the CCRAEC held their first official meeting opened to the public. Participants shared their perspectives on what the Agreement commits the Parties to do and on what had been done with respect to those commitments. Participants also reviewed cooperation activities undertaken thus far and discussed potential future areas of collaboration. Report

Canada and Costa Rica Public Workshop and a Government Round Table Discussion on Trade and Environment - June 9 - 10, 2004

On June 9th 2004, Canada and Costa Rica held a Public Workshop on Trade and the Environment. The workshop exposed a large interdepartmental community in Costa Rica to the latest developments and thinking regarding trade and the environment. In addition, the organizers gathered as much input as possible as to what constitutes the greatest challenges and opportunities for Costa Rica, specific and practical steps that can be taken to face these, and more long term strategic considerations. On June 10th, the signatory Parties held a Government Round Table Discussion. The round table discussion allowed for a frank discussion among governmental officials on sensitive issues such as the Doha WTO round, the FTAA, the US - CAFTA, Canada - CA4 negotiation. The round table discussion helped to promote the exchange of perspectives on, and build a mutual understanding of, a broad range of international and hemispheric trade and environment issues. Participants developed an open understanding of each other’s interests and goals, shared information and perspectives on key trade and environment linkages, and fostered a common vision and approaches in a number of areas. Report

Environment Canada Sponsoring a Detailed Study of Costa Rica’s Chemical Management Capacity - March 24, 2004

Environment Canada is announcing that it will sponsor Costa Rica’s participation in the 2004 - 2006 National Profile Support Program managed of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Inter-Organization Program for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC). This program will assist Costa Rica in drafting a comprehensive assessment - National Profile - of its national infrastructure, relating to the legal, institutional, administrative and technical aspects of chemicals management, along with a study of the nature and extent of chemicals availability and use. The program will also provide support for workshops to set priorities for capacity building for a number of key areas considered particularly important and urgent. Furthermore, the program will provide assistance to develop a national chemical safety internet homepage to document project results and as a tool to strengthen national information exchange in a sustainable way.

Canada and Costa Rica Hold a Consultative Workshop on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers - December 4 - 5, 2003

Canada and Costa Rica held a consultative workshop on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) on December 4 - 5, 2003, in San Jose, Costa Rica. PRTRs are important environmental management tools. They have been implemented in a number of developed countries, providing governments and citizens with valuable information about environmental releases of pollutants and encouraging industries to adopt strategies to reduce releases and transfers. The national consultative workshop in Costa Rica focused on the potential establishment of a domestic PRTR. The report of the workshop is now available