RADIO PANAMA Editorial Office
The Ministry of the Environment (MiAMBIENTE) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) presented the National Strategy for the Environment (ENA 2021 – 2031), called “Environmental Management for the Restoration of Ecosystems, Sustainable and Inclusive Development” in an act that took place this Thursday in a local hotel and before a large audience.
This document guides the development actions that the country must go through in the next 10 years, by using the environment strategically and sustainably, for the benefit of these and future generations.
The ENA was enacted through Executive Decree No. 12 of September 12, 2022, signed by the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, and the Minister of the Environment, Milciades Concepción.
For this strategy, several documents were taken into account as references that also point to the future that we must forge. As an example of them, the United Nations 2030 Agenda was used, such as the Sustainable Development Goals; the Bicentennial Pact “closing gaps” of 2021; the 2019-2024 Government Plan, the Reports and documents related to Climate Change, to mention a few among the many consulted.
Present at the ENA presentation were the Minister of the Environment, Milciades Concepción, the resident representative of the UNDP, María del Carmen Sacasa, Carlos Salcedo, Minister Counselor for Agricultural Affairs, Igor Pittí, Deputy Minister of Security, James Cooper, Deputy Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs and Amelie González, Secretary General of MiAMBIENTE.
The Minister of Environment, Milciades Concepción, said that the document is the result of a purely technical work, led by the Environmental Policy Directorate, with the participation of public institutions with environmental competence, which form the Inter-institutional Environmental System (SIA).
The minister said that we are advancing on the correct path of the country and we have achieved in a short time the position of blue and green leaders. He added that if the environmental issue continues to be kept for a selective group, “we will never achieve sustainable development, nor true environmental management. We must give participation to all sectors.
The resident representative of the UNDP, Sacasa, expressed her satisfaction with the work of the ENA, which highlighted that it was achieved “in a joint manner” and acknowledged that we are going through a complex time “and that complexity requires complex solutions”. She also considered that “Panama has a development in transition, which has not yet reached its fullness, but is moving towards full development.”
Sacasa added that the current situation also represents an opportunity, “which should allow us to incorporate the entire society as a whole so that no one is left behind.” “We are experiencing a period of social destabilization, health and that the solutions must also be multidimensional,” she said.
Roberto Bonilla, from MiAMBIENTE’s Environmental Policy Department, explained the content of the ENA and its objectives, structure and purposes, which seek to contribute to better decision-making processes for environmental protection and conservation in Panama, taking into account consideration of the existing environmental, social and economic challenges and opportunities at the national level and in the global context, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
This work had the direct and active participation of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which financially supported the hiring of specialist consultants so that it could be carried out in a transparent manner and within the framework of a frank and direct dialogue at its tables. of work.
In its structure, the ENA developed five thematic areas: governance for environmental management; sustainable development and resilience to climate change and other adverse natural events; conservation, protection and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity; inclusive participation, education, research and technology for environmental inclusion and Panama, green hub, blue, circular economy, sustainable production and consumption and green businesses.
In the decree that approves it, it is established that the ENA will be considered as a tool to advance in the planning of the environmental management of the country, as part of the national efforts to achieve sustainable development with equity, social inclusion and in harmony with the ambient.
