About our Work in this Area...

Since the first Summit of the Americas in Miami, the Heads of State and Government have recognized that sustainable development and economic prosperity are two aspects of the objective. The heads of State through this process have also made a commitment of strengthen environmental protection, and to encourage the sustainable use of natural resources to assure a balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection. In response to this commitment, the General Secretariat of the OAS, through its Department of Sustainable Development  (DSD), is working to enhance environmental management capacity in the context of trade liberalization and market integration in the Americas.

 One example involves supporting an environmental cooperation agenda that helps countries anticipate health and environmental issues and standards associated with market access. A related effort is to identify those areas in which member countries have a comparative advantage in environmental goods and services.  Work is underway in the sustainable tourism, organic agriculture, and sustainable fisheries to identify “win-win” trade and environmental outcomes.   

The OAS has supported member States through different trade capacity building processes in their bilateral trade negotiations and has provided technical assistance for developing their national capacity building strategies for the Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP) of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).  In support of the priorities established by member States in the mentioned processes, the OAS has programmed a series of activities and projects in the area of trade and environment in the Western Hemisphere.

Featured Publications and Information Sources ...

Research paper on Environmental Health Implications of Expanded Trade in the Americas prepared with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Comparative Guide to the Chile-United States Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. A Study by the Tripartite Committee: Chapter 19, Environment.

DR-CAFTA: Challenges and Opportunities for Central America. A Report by the World Bank.

Events Outcomes  ...

November 18, 2005. Joint OAS-UNEP informal discussion regarding the possible establishment of working group on trade and environment. More Coming Soon!

Workshop on Trade and Environment: Environmental and Institutional Capacity of the Andean Region in the context of Free Trade. Quito, Ecuador. (November 17, 2005). More...

Technical workshop on “Supporting  Sustainable Development through Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism" in preparation for First Inter-American Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development, to be held in Bolivia in August 2006, in San José, Costa Rica, (November 2, 2005) More...

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and OAS- DSD  Global Forum on Trade on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for Trade and the Environment in San José, Costa Rica, (3 and 4 November 2005). More ...

 Third meeting of government's experts on Sustainable Production and Consumption of Latin America and the Caribbean held in Managua Nicaragua. (August 3-5, 2005) More ...

Workshop "UNEP-UNCTAD Trade-related Capacity-Building on Post-Doha Trade and Environment" in Santo Domingo,  Dominican Republic (July 19-21, 2005) More ...

Panel of Experts on Trade and Sustainability in the Americas, Washington, DC (May 24, 2005) More ...

Regional Workshop on Sustainable Development and Regional Trade Agreements, Buenos Aires, Argentina (April 28-29, 2005). More ...

Regional Regional Workshop on Sustainable Development and Regional Trade Agreements, San Jose, Costa Rica

(April 25-26, 2005) More ...

Click to see other events

 News

 Initiatives and Programs

Environmental Assessments and Capacity Building  for Trade Liberalization in the Americas.

Sites of Interest

WTO: Trade and Environment

United Nations Environment Programme Economics and Trade Branch

The Trade and Environment Database

Trade and Environment.com