Manual on the Development of Cleaner Production Policies ... - Unido

DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY
MODULE 1: INTRODUCING CP
SLIDE: CP policy progress in Latin America/2
4. The main focus of environmental regulations tends to be on the ‘green’
agenda. Industrial and urban pollution still need attention
[interventions];
5. The environmental regulatory framework is weak and the level of
enforcement low;
6. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) predominate in industry in
most countries;
7. ISO standards and certificates are becoming more widespread.
These two slides present the current stage of national CP policy development in
Latin America. There are two key messages: (a) progress in policy development
has been uneven, with some countries well advanced while others have still to
initiate a policy dialogue on CP; and (b) there are a number of factors that
hamper CP policy development.
Background
Progress in the development of CP policy has not been uniform across the region. Some countries
have already included CP into national policies. Chile and Colombia have introduced national laws on
CP; Mexico’s national CP policy dialogue is at an advanced stage and in Brazil regional policies on
CP are being developed. Nicaragua tabled a draft national CP policy in December 2001. In many
countries, however, Cleaner Production, despite its obvious economic benefits, is still not a priority
option among key decision makers from government and industry, and CP promotion has yet to start.
There is often a lack of information or awareness among decision makers regarding the potential
benefits of CP programmes. Mainstreaming of CP (i.e. incorporating CP considerations into other
sectoral policies) is the exception rather than the rule.
Leaving CP aside for a moment, it is not unusual to find a weak regulatory and institutional framework
for environmental protection that needs to be strengthened or, in some cases, developed.
Environmental policies and regulations often focus on the “green agenda”, relating to biodiversity
protection and nature conservation, and fail to address in a satisfactory manner issues related to
industrial and urban pollution. The poor enforcement of environmental regulations and the relatively
low cost of resources (particularly electricity and water) hamper the successful introduction of CP
projects. Last but not least, in a majority of countries of Latin America, the structure of industry is
characterized by a large proportion of small enterprises, where it is difficult to enforce or regulate
compliance.
On the positive side, there is growing pressure from the public and the market to improve
environmental performance in industry. This is especially common in countries with strong export
markets, where ISO 14001 is becoming an accepted tool to demonstrate environmental performance.
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