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What is the EMS
Secretariat?
It is an
International Secretariat managedby the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
EMS
started activities in August 1996, from the Latin
America and Caribbean Regional Office
of IDRC in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The
Secretariat provides the coordination of donors to promote the use of best
practices in environmental management within this region. During this
initial stage, EMS has focussed its activities on the field of
managing urban environmental problems through the promotion of applied
research with emphasis on strongly holistic and participatory approaches.
The EMS-SEMA has the
support of IDRC, IADB, Environment Canada, UNEP
and the Ministry of Housing, Land Management and the Environment of
Uruguay (MVOTMA).
¿What
is an International Secretariat?
International
Secretariats are initiatives that are housed eihter at IDRC Headquarters in
Ottawa or in one of IDRC's seven regional offices. Secretariats pool
the resources and expertise of various development organizations that share
a common goal in program delivery. IDRC provides a range of support
services that are critical to the success of the secretariat. Althouhg
legally part of IDRC, the Centre does not control de program work of the
secretariat. Each secretariat has its ouwn Executive Director and is
governed and funded as a collaborative partnership amongst a group of
donors. Secretariats are created to initiate, encourage, support, and
conduct research into problems of the developing world and into the means
for applying and adapting knowledge to foster sustainable economic and
social advancement. Secretariats can also be established to build
capacity in partner institutions and to provide direct assistance for
research and development activities within their areas of
specialization.
For more
information visit: http://www.idrc.ca/lacro/docs/secretariados_s.html
(Spanish)
EMS
Mission
The
mission of the EMS is to foster a correct environmental management in
Latin America and the Caribbean, by providing support in decision making
(policy formulation and implementation) in relation to the environmental
effects of the different human activities, through a more dynamic relation
between research, horizontal cooperation and a growing availability of
relevant information.
EMS:
Objectives & Challenges
-
to increase the
technical capacity of institutions and professionals in Latin
America and the Caribbean to identify and assess environmental
problems,
-
to improve the
decision-making processes for the formulation, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects
related to environmental management
- to nourish and develop a market for research
applied to environmental management, where the demand aspect is presented
by entities whose decisions actually impact the quality of the environment
-
to increase and
complement existing initiatives to promote an effective training
and networking between technical experts and managers or
politicians whose decisions affect the environment through
sectoral and local policies, and to favour their interaction
with qualified research outlets and with systems for the
dissemination of relevant managerial experiences and acquired
knowledge.
EMS:
Coordination of regional efforts
EMS: Civil
Society in urban environmental management
EMS provides
cost-effective information transfer on these issues between local
governments, research institutions and the civil society, both in
the region and in each country. This approach responds to demands
for more information/knowledge generated by the transfer of
responsibilities following the decentralisation processes of
governments in the region. Traditionally, such knowledge and
experiences have been sought through observation of procedures
followed in developed countries. However, there is today a growing
need in developing countries to obtain and consolidate such critical
experience more effectively. EMS responds to this need
through the promotion of an exchange of experiences between local
governments and other relevant social agents in the Latin America
and the Caribbean region.
The EMS aims at
providing the basis for that regional information "market"
in terms of environmental issues and urban development.
The difference between
the EMS and other networks in existence lies in the emphasis
placed on the interconnection between research and decision-making
processes, its approach to a demand-oriented program whose
indications on the activity priorities in the region are followed.
The strengths of EMS lie basically on its working perspective of a
"knowledge system", which implies the participation of the
secretariatin cases where:
1) experiences are
systemised
2) information and knowledge requirements are identified
3) specific research projects are organised
4) results are made available and promoted using the new
information technology ( e.g. the Internet)
There are other networks
on issues related to the environmental management of urban problems
that work in close contact with the Secretariat by identifying the
needs of the region and using and disseminating the products
prepared by the Secretariat.
EMS:
Research & Development for the Environment
The countries of Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC) are under pressure to improve their environmental
management in order to sustain their development and be competitive within a
global economy. This will require change in policies, institutions and
technologies where an essential ingredient is human resources capable of
formulating and implementing appropriate modifications.
Over the past two decades the
LAC region has made significant investment in its scientific and
technological capability. More importantly, the past 8-10 years have
witnessed a process of dynamic institutional change with profound
implications for the interface between socio-economic development and the
environment. The consolidation of these evolving institutions as effective
instruments for managing change, particularly in the environment, provides a
challenge and an opportunity to the region's research & development
(R&D) sector.
In spite of the advances in this
sector, it has yet to establish its relevance or credibility with the
existing and emerging institutions which need information on technical and
management options for research, evaluation of experience inside and outside
the region, and exchange of knowledgeable technicians. As a consequence,
this sector is poorly utilized. The demand for its skills, and therefore the
market, has not been clearly articulated. Much of the R&D sector
continues to operate in isolation from those decision makers who determine
the de facto management of the environment.
New information and
communication technologies are opening up vast possibilities to effectively
bring the R&D sector (particularly universities, independent research
entities and NGOs as well as consultants) into closer touch with the
perceived needs of clients engaged in use and management of the environment.
Both the supply and demand for
research and information exchange are widely dispersed throughout the
region. There is a clear need to develop a "market" whereby, on
the one hand the demands of clients with a capacity and willingness to pay
for information can be transmitted to the independent R&D sector; and on
the other, the sector itself can alert clients to the "products"
it has to offer.
The underlying premise of this
initiative is the view that new information and communications technologies
offer greatly expanded opportunities for enhancing the relevance and
cost-effectiveness of horizontal cooperation and research in identifying and
solving the emerging environmental management issues. These issues are faced
by those whose decisions directly or indirectly impact the quality of
environment.
The approach is based on
targeting a limited set of environmental management (EM) "areas",
each made up of a group of decision-makers with common concerns; in effect,
they are defined by sectors such as municipal government, central or
regional government environmental agencies, or any of the productive and
service sectors, for example forestry, mining, fisheries, agriculture or
transport. It will be the responsibility of the Secretariat to identify what
environmental research plus related information services or other activities
are needed, as perceived by actors in the respective areas.
In addition, it is expected that
the EMS will develop a capacity to manage the on-line market for research
grants on behalf of external donors, and, through the technical backstopping
contracts, to undertake quality control and monitoring and evaluation
(M&E) of activities partially funded through the Secretariat. The focus
will be on extending and strengthening market mechanisms as the vehicle for
making research more relevant to environmental management decisions in LAC.
How
to apply for funding
In a competitive way,
donations of up to CAD 20.000 each, to local/municipal governments,
through open bids. (
more
information here)
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