• Overview
  • Translation service
  • Agenda
  • Context

Date and time: 18 y 19 October 2021, 10:00 am (GMT-5)

Idiomas: English, French and Spanish.

The Regional Consultative Meeting for Latin American and Caribbean Major Groups, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and conducted by Lorena Terrazas, Regional Facilitator for UNEP Civil Society, took place virtually on 18-19 October 2021. Civil society actors, including youth, children, private sector and environmental organizations participated in the meeting and initiated the preparation of a unified statement that will contribute to the discussions of the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2).

The meeting informed civil society actors on the preparations for UNEP's 50th anniversary (UNEP@50) and the 40th anniversary of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Stockholm+50 conference. This international meeting hosted by Sweden on June 2-3, 2022, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, from which UNEP and contemporary environmental governance emerged. The major groups will also be able to share their views on these commemorations and discuss their role and participation in each of these commemorations.

The Regional Consultation was preceded by a self-organized First Regional Consultation for the Youth of Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the Major Group for Children and Youth (UNEP-MGCY) coordination group for Latin America and the Caribbean. The event named "The road to UNEA, UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50: what young people expect from governments, was held on 15-16 October 2021. A report in Spanish were prepared and can be found in this webpage.

Documents:

  • Meeting Report. [español] [english]
  • Regional Report of the UNEP Major Group for Children and Youth: Systematization of the First Regional Consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean - The road to UNEA, UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50: what young people expect from governments. [español]
  • Regional Youth Consultation for the Construction of Environmental Peace. [Español]

Contacts:

Regional Civil Society Facilitators: Lorena Terrazas (lorena.terrazas@gmail.com) and Joseph Severe (unascadhaiti@gmail.com).

Information to receive interpretation service

If you wish to hear the interpretation audio, please download the application INTERACTIO from Apple Store or Google Play in your smartphone or go to app.interactio.io on your smartphone browser (*it is recommended to use the application).

Please follow these steps:

  1. Download the Interactio App from the Apple Store or Google Play store.
  2. Enter the event code CIVIL2021.
  3. Plug in your headphones.
  4. Open the App and select your language.

- By cellphone (Recommended): The best way is to open the Interactio program on your telephone, listen to the interpretation through your telephone and watch the meeting through the computer. - By computer: If you want to listen to the translation in the same device you are watching the meeting, you will need to mute the video meeting (Webex) and only listen through the Interactio page: https://app.interactio.io/Search/DirectedSearch

 

More information: Here you will find a short video on how to connect to the Interactio app and Interactio Integration Guide.   

 

Day 1

DAY 1

10:00 - 10:15 am: Opening Remarks

Jacqueline Alvarez - UNEP - Regional Director and representative

Alexander Juras - Chief of Civil Society Unit - UNEP

Lorena Terrazas and Joseph Severe - Regional Facilitators, UNEP Civil Society

Session I

10:15 - 10:30 am: Introduction to UNEA 5.2

Aline Nsengimana - Programme Officer - GAO

10:30 - 10:45 am - Brief on UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50

Laetitia Zobel - Civil Society Unit - UNEP

10:45 - 11:00 am: Questions and comments

Open participation

Session II

11:00 - 11:30 am: Taking stock of the global outcomes of the Major Groups and Stakeholders global consultations

Introduction by Patrizia Heidegger, from EEB

11:30 am - 12:15 pm: Views from the region – key themes and approaches 

Open participation moderated by Regional Facilitators

12:15 - 12:45 pm: The voices of the youth

Introduction by Vania Olmos, from Youth4Nature, Mexico

12:45 - 1:00 pm: Work forward: organization of day 2

Regional facilitators

 

Day 2

10:00 am - 11:15 am: First regional consultation Stockholm+50, global and regional roadmap Inputs for the regional statement

Coordinated by Adriana Zacarías, Head of Global Opportunities for SDGs (GO4SDGS), UNEP

11:30 am - 12:45 pm: Working session: inputs to the regional statement

Guided participation facilitated by Regional Facilitators

12:45 - 1:00 pm: Wrap up and way forward and closure of the RCM

Regional facilitators and UNEP

The Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) is centered on the theme “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, which calls for strengthened action to protect and restore nature and the nature-based solutions to achieve the SDGs in its three complementary dimensions (social, economic and environmental).

The first session of the UNEA-5 (UNEA-5.1) was held online on 22-23 February 2021 with a revised and streamlined agenda that focused on urgent and procedural decisions. The second session of the UNEA (UNEA-5.2) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, on 28 February–2 March 2022, and represents an opportunity for Member States to share best practices for sustainability. It will create a momentum for governments to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic through green and sustainable recovery plans.

Recognizing the crucial role of civil society, member governments endorsed UNEP’s practice of organizing the Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF) —in conjunction with the UNEA. The GMGSF aims to inform civil society stakeholders of current and future UNEP policies and to provide a platform where representatives from Major Groups can exchange views and develop common ground in preparation to contribute to the policy dialogues at a multi-stakeholder level during the event. The Forum is preceded by preparatory Regional Consultative Meetings (RCMs) among Civil Society in the respective regions to ensure regional perspectives on all the UNEP mandates and UNEA themes including specific regional challenges are reflected on the way to the Environment Assembly. The results of the RCMs are reflected as regional statements and perspectives in a consolidated document to UNEA presented by end of 2021.

2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of UNEP in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. The creation of UNEP was one of the most visible results of this conference, at which numerous innovations were presented. UNEP was established to be the environmental conscience of the UN and the world. Commemoration activities will look at the significant progress made, as well as what lies ahead in the coming decades.

The year 2022 marks an important anniversary in the regional calendar: the 40th anniversary of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, which first meeting was held in 1982. The Forum of Ministers of Environment was established in 1982 and is the oldest and most relevant cooperation body for environmental authorities in the region.