8/3/2019 Latin American Youth Declaration

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/latin-american-youth-declaration 1/2

Road to Rio+20,Latin American Youth Declaration

The Lan American Civil Society Youth Organizaons see the need for the transion to a global green

economy to have as a basis an ethical frame and the principles dened by the Earth Charter and

Agenda 21: the respect and protecon of community life, ecological integrity, universal human rights,

respect for diversity, gender equality, economic jusce, democracy and a culture of peace. In addion,

that the United Naons make a commitment to those principles and promote them among its mem-

bers.

We aspire to create a model of green economy, solidary and creave, based on the respect of natural

resources and the individuals of society.

For that, we consider fundamental that governments:

In regards to the Green Economy:• Promote inclusive projects for youth and all sectors of the populaon - both urban and rural -

creang valuable green jobs and spaces for parcipaon;

• Promote responsible consumpon;

• Ensure control and penalizaon of companies with contaminang producon through a system of 

incenves and benets for those that implement good pracces;

• Create new indicators to measure the level of development and/or income of countries, including

variables that measure the improvement of cizens’ quality of life and the environment in which

they live;

• Fund and/or accept as part of the payment of external debt, projects of recovery and the

conservaon of biodiversity;• Promote accountability and control in the mining and hydrocarbons industries;

• Allocate 2% of world GDP for the transion to a green economy under a framework for

poverty reducon.

In regards to Participation and Access to Information:•Produce and disseminate accessible informaon technically speaking and in terms of languages to ensure

the informed parcipaon of the community and thus enforce the right of access to informaon;

• Produce sustainability reports to measure and communicate their economic, social and

environmental impact, and to account the fulllment of internaonal commitments;

• Create local Youth Councils to monitor the commitments made by the States at all levels, thusensuring youth parcipaon in decision making spaces and construcon processes of public policies,

especially in relaon to natural resources management.

In regards to Zero Waste:• Adopt the concept of zero waste as a goal for the global community as a whole, every stage of the

producon process, and every economic acvity;

• Secure the fulllment of the principle of precauon in the development and markeng of new

products by companies;

• Develop systems for sustainable urban solid waste management through:

- The separaon of these residues by the enre community;

- The eradicaon of common dumpsters by their replacement with dierenated separaon systems;

- The establishment of recycling centers at the local level;

- The implementaon of public educaon and awareness policies to reduce waste producon;

- The creaon and implementaon of laws on urban solid waste that involve businesses and makes

them accountable for processing waste.

8/3/2019 Latin American Youth Declaration

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/latin-american-youth-declaration 2/2

In regards to Environmental Education:• Assume mandatory and responsible planning, implementaon, evaluaon and monitoring of 

environmental educaon at all educaonal levels, in ways that are diverse, cross-seconal,

mulcultural, inclusive, universal and free;

•GenerateaGlobalAconPlanwhich denes strategies, principles, goals and indicators of 

environmental educaon in both formal and non formal spaces, with the parcipaon and

experience of the Civil Society Organizaons;

• Adopt Environmental Educaon as a process and a spacefortherecoveryofculturaltradionsand

respect for territorial identy, inclusive of and empowering vulnerable groups.

In regards to Technological Development and Renewable Energies:• Create an internaonal center to support the generaon, transfer, implementaon and disseminaon

of sustainable and appropriate technologies;

• Signicantly increase investments and incenves in sustainable infrastructure and renewable

energies, decreasing – as urgent acon and priority – investments in non renewable or high

environmental impact energies;

• Respect, protect and revalue the knowledge of ancestral technologies, recognizing the intellectual

property of nave communies;

• Develop a protocol for the evaluaon and approval of new technologies as a prerequisite to theirimplementaon and disseminaon.

In regards to Sustainable Cities and Communities:• Adopt the concept of “Cies for people” based on social and spaal integraon, incorporang

principles of land use and ecological zoning;

• Encourage private and public investment in infrastructure, modes of transport and awareness programs;

• Promote an internaonal agreement to promote sustainable transportaon, including the bicycle as a

preferred mode of transportaon in cies;

• Enhance and promote pracces and trends of sustainable urban culturesuch as fairs, solar collectors,

rainwater collectors, urban agriculture, domesc processes for recycling gray water and sustainable

design and architecture.

In regards to Agriculture:• Reduce transgenic producons and their derivaves in order to help improve people’s quality of life;

• Rescue, revalue and protect tradional crops of communies;

• Allocate funds and provide incenves for the development of sustainable agriculture projects to help

improve producon and dignify the work of rural communies.

In regards to Legislation:• Racaon and implementaon – in the mes agreed – of protocols and treaes signed at the

internaonal level;

• Give top-level instuonal hierarchy to naonal environmental authories, including mainstreamingand breadth of powers;

• Eecvely instrument environmental treaes and agreements signed at the internaonal level,

through the development and regulaon of laws.

We as young people have been working on these

proposals and assume responsibility for further effort.

We hope to receive your support in the same way we

provide our energy. The paradigm shift is an urgent needand demands joint efforts.