Memoria del Foro Regional sobre Comercio y Medio Ambiente Realizado en San Salvador del 7 al 10 de julio de 1999

This report documents the proceedings of the Regional Forum on Trade and Environment held in San Salvador from July 7 to 10, 1999. Organized by SG-SICA, CCAD, IISD, IDRC, and IUCN, the forum aimed to establish a regional agenda for Central America to integrate environmental sustainability into global and regional trade negotiations, particularly within the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

• Central America possesses significant natural competitive advantages, including approximately 7% of global biodiversity, 38% forest cover, and a renewable energy potential exceeding 30,000 megawatts.
• The region's agricultural model is in crisis due to four primary failures: an institutional structure that encourages environmental degradation through subsidies and taxes, a 'maximum yield per hectare' approach that exhausts resources, a technological dependence on imported inputs that alienates small producers, and a focus on low-value primary commodities.
• To transition toward sustainable agriculture, the forum proposes three pillars: shifting from traditional livestock/agriculture to an agroforestry axis, replacing 1960s-70s technology with organic and low-impact methods, and implementing a regional production and marketing policy for high environmental quality products.
• The forum identifies a critical lack of a unified regional agenda on trade and environment, leaving Central American countries vulnerable to having interests imposed by the US and Europe in WTO and FTAA negotiations.
• Environmental services are viewed as a major economic opportunity for the new millennium; the region's carbon sequestration potential is estimated at 56 million metric tons per year, which could generate $560 million annually if sold at $10 per ton.
• Costa Rica is cited as a successful model for integrating economic policy with environmental interests, notably through a fuel tax where 5% is allocated to environmental management and road repair, contributing to a forest cover increase from 30.4% in 1997 to 40.1% in 1998.
• The forestry sector in Central America is characterized by a false trade deficit caused by the import of paper and cardboard for fruit exports, which is then re-exported as boxes and not counted as a forestry export.
• The forum emphasizes that the private sector must lead the regional trade and environment agenda to ensure it is integrated into economic decision-making, rather than being relegated to a secondary role held by NGOs.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (1999). Memoria del Foro Regional sobre Comercio y Medio Ambiente Realizado en San Salvador del 7 al 10 de julio de 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ormaiisd.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Memoria del Foro Regional sobre Comercio y Medio Ambiente Realizado en San Salvador del 7 al 10 de julio de 1999. 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ormaiisd.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Memoria del Foro Regional sobre Comercio y Medio Ambiente Realizado en San Salvador del 7 al 10 de julio de 1999 |date=September 1999 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ormaiisd.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment1999memoria, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Memoria del Foro Regional sobre Comercio y Medio Ambiente Realizado en San Salvador del 7 al 10 de julio de 1999}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {1999}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ormaiisd.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }