Private Enterprise and Financial Markets > Environment > Urban Environment and Pollution Control
Strategic areas for the strengthening of Urban Environmental Management in Latin America
The following guidelines are drawn from Bank experiences in the areas of institutional development and strengthening for municipal management in several client countries. The guidelines are organized under four cross-sectoral themes, which combined, constitute the environmental governance framework: a) strengthening of the legal framework that contributes to an effective decentralization of responsibilities and functions for environmental management in municipalities of Latin America; b) strengthening of technical capacities in activities including planning and administration of municipal services, implementation of regulatory and economic instruments and environmental information management, among others; c) strengthening of financial capacities to secure proper financing sources and mechanisms to efficiently manage the urban environment and d) strengthening of public participation to assure that the diverse set of actors from civil society and the private sector are included in the design and implementation phases of urban environmental policies and programs.
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Legal Framework: In the context of increasing decentralization processes in the region, it is crucial to highlight the role that solid legal frameworks play in urban environmental management. The clear designation of functions, competences and legal instruments to municipal governments enhance their power and autonomy to define and execute policies, plans and programs. Likewise, solid legal frameworks can create the adequate mechanisms so that municipalities can secure, in the long-term, their institutional capacities and financial resources aimed to administer, protect and improve the urban environment and the ecosystems supporting it.
Strengthening the legal framework should also integrate actions to improve interinstitutional coordination. Decentralization processes and complex environmental problems demand multi-sectoral perspectives and solutions and therefore, the urban environment legal framework can establish formal and non-formal mechanisms to facilitate coordinated decision making. Other critical factors for effective urban environmental management according to the Bank experiences in this area are determined by interorganizational relations that promote communication, information exchange and cooperation between local agencies, national environmental agencies and other sectoral government entities (e.g. Ministries).
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Technical Capacities: Some of the areas that are crucial to the strengthening of technical capacities of municipal government in Latin America include planning and administration of municipal services, implementation of regulatory instruments and environmental information management systems. Because design and planning of environmental programs and plans are of high priority in urban environmental management, municipal agencies should strengthen their capacities to conduct environmental assessments and improve information management for project design and planning. Additionally, municipalities can develop mechanisms to use regulatory and market instruments adequately, and monitor and evaluate urban environmental interventions.
When municipal agencies are developing technical capacities it is necessary to consider human, technological and management factors to articulate the different activities along the environmental management process. For instance, municipal entities should be prepared to measure progress, interpret results and provide feedback to decision makers. Also, these organisms should be equipped to conduct inspections for environmental compliance with local and national legal requirements.
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Financial Capacities: Municipal governments can strengthen their financial capacities for urban environmental management by consolidating procedures and mechanisms for environmental budgeting and resources allocation in early stages of development plans. Municipalities can also craft mechanisms to assure their own financial sources for environmental management in the long-term and enable an institutional setting that facilitates access to external funding. Therefore, municipalities should implement and adopt the necessary technological and administrative instruments to improve collection of public services fees, taxes and other revenues from environmental permits, licenses and penalties. These sources may be a significant share to finance municipal environmental management processes.
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Capacities to Promote Public Participation and Access to Environmental Information: Public participation practices that involve both civil society and private sector actors are critical for urban environmental management. In this vein, municipal governments can lead and facilitate participation and consultation processes that incorporate the various actors (either affected or interested) in the definition of urban environmental priorities, plans and policies. A strategic planning approach can be applied to municipal participatory methods so that informed debates and agreements on priorities, goals and indicators may be included in formulation, implementation and evaluation of environmental interventions.
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Relevant Document: Lineamientos Estratégicos para la Gestión Ambiental Urbana en Centroamérica
