[2024] Central American Dialogue on Circular Economy
Documents
Concept Note and Agenda (updated as of 23 July 2024)
Background
Humanity currently generates approximately 2.24 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per year and waste generation rates could increase by more than 73% by the end of 2050. However, waste volumes continue to increase across the globe amid rapid urbanization and production and consumption trends centered on a "take, make and dispose" model. With six years left to achieve the 2030 Agenda, the circularity of solid waste, which is itself a resource, can ensure progress towards sustainable development while achieving innovation and economic opportunities.
A key challenge in waste mismanagement is open dumping and burning of waste, often linked to informal and unregulated activities. Only 55% of MSW generated generated is managed in controlled facilities worldwide and developing countries discard approximately 90% of waste in large, unregulated dumpsters or landfills that can burn openly, affect air quality and also leach into waterways. Informality in the waste sector increases the vulnerability of workers and their communities. It is estimated that more than 400,000 people in developing countries die each year from diseases resulting from poorly managed waste systems requiring multilevel governance and multilateral action to address this challenge.
Driving a circular economy around key resources presents co-benefits and synergies to accelerate progress on all key social, economic and environmental SDGs and targets. Effective and integrated waste management contributes to all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, this dialogue will focus on key SDG indicators, specifically, 11.6.1, 12.3.1, 12.4.1, 12.4.2 and 12.5.1, with the objective of accelerating national-local progress in Central America on data generation and evidence-based public policies for a circular economy.
The transition to circularity in the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC region) can effectively contribute to sustainable development, but requires transformational changes in production and consumption systems with the adoption of mechanisms to achieve this transition. To this end, it is essential to overcome various factors that act as barriers to the advancement of the circular economy, such as the construction of roadmaps, the lack of metrics, the absence of instruments and regulatory issues, building governance and collaboration among actors. Therefore, in addition to the harmonization of concepts, it is increasingly important to identify gaps and opportunities and design policies to lead society towards an increasingly circular future.
In key ECLAC documents, the circular economy is defined as a model of productive transformation that applies a new logic of production and consumption through the optimization and permanence of the use and value of resources in the economy, based on technological innovation and the development of new technologies. business models. In this logic, the circular economy would be a system where materials do not become waste and nature is regenerated. Materials are kept in circulation through processes that start from the eco-design of products, and where priority is given to maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling and composting, promoting a decoupling between the consumption of natural resources and economic activity. Eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and regenerating nature are the three principles of the circular economy adopted worldwide.
As a resource-rich region with a diverse configuration, LAC plays a key role in the global extraction and use of materials. The region provides more than 11% of the world's raw materials by weight, despite representing 8.3% of the world's population. It is largely self-sufficient in raw materials and comprises many countries with a moderate material footprint. However, material recirculation and thus secondary material consumption is minimal, less than 1%. The LAC economy is largely linear, with differences between countries and sectors. The challenge now is to promote the incorporation of circular practices in priority sectors by transforming them into national strategies and public policies consistent with a transition to circularity.
The Central American Integration System (SICA) is made up of the countries of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic. SICA's main objective is the integration of the region and one of the integrating issues is the environment. The secretariat in charge of the environmental agenda within the system is the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), which through its Regional Environmental Framework strategies (2021-2025), contains proposals for solid waste management and circular economy for the region. CCAD has promoted regional agreements to strengthen the countries' capacities for solid waste management, compliance with the treaties on hazardous waste under the Basel Convention and electronic waste (WEEE), and, more recently, to develop a regional approach to solid waste management and the circular economy and a common approach to plastic waste management.
However, challenges persist from national to local implementation of these strategies, as well as data gaps related to monitoring and measuring progress on waste and circularity. Data and knowledge gaps are key barriers to effectively implementing targeted policy actions for greater resource circularity. A recent UN report shows that SDG 1, which includes most of the indicators on solid waste, has the largest gap in data availability. Similarly, SDG 12.5, measured from data on national recycling rates and tons of recycled material, has accumulated limited data for most countries globally. These data are essential to compare progress globally and to measure the shift towards a circular economy. Every two years countries have the opportunity to report solid waste data, with national responses to the Questionnaire on Environmental Statistics (QES). to the United Nations Questionnaire on Environmental Statistics.
Creating evidence-based policies requires support for data generation and the implementation of local-level strategies towards a circular economy. In this context, the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), which serves as the policy support arm of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), aims to develop a policy support system that can address data gaps, technology needs and capacity gaps to achieve resource circularity i n solid waste management. This work builds on UN DESA's commitment to zero waste through the International Partnership for Scaling Up Local Authority Waste Management Services (IPLA) from 2011 to 2015. In light of the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/77/161 adopted in 2022 on zero waste, UNOSD proposes a Community of Practice for the formulation of zero waste policies in the run-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a special focus on Central America through this first dialogue to be held on July 23-25 in San Salvador, El Salvador.
To address the triple planetary crisis through waste-free societies, UN DESA, through UNOSD, aims to develop a concerted system of policy support through partnerships, results-oriented and consultative strategies for regional, national and local action, in partnership with ECLAC. ECLAC is also part of the Circular Economy Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, formed in 2021 to provide a regional platform to enhance inter-ministerial, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation, increase knowledge and understanding of the circular economy and provide capacity building and technical assistance for the development of public policies on circular economy and sustainable consumption and production.
With the support of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, this first regional policy dialogue will contribute to design better research and policy support to strengthen circular approaches and waste-free societies in participating countries through a multi-year policy support process. This first meeting serves as a consultation platform to tailor future research and policy support according to current needs, challenges and accelerated solutions that can measurably improve solid waste management and resource circularity at national and local levels.
Objectives
This policy dialogue will focus on:
- Generate evidence and data on current needs, challenges and barriers to p r o m o t e resource circularity and a circular economy in solid waste management in Central America;
- Examine policy support tools, proven solutions and methods to drive circular approaches and close data and information gaps on waste management and facilitate evidence-based policy formulation in the solid waste sector such as plastics and more;
- Share and discuss opinions, comments, suggestions and recommendations on the design and operation of circular waste management systems from the national to the local level; coherent and impact-oriented policy support; and
- Identify and involve new actors to promote the circular economy and responsible solid waste management in Central America.
Dates and Venue
The Side Event will be held from 23 to 25 July 2024 in San Salvador, El Salvador at Holiday Inn.
Programme and Agenda
Day 1 (23 July)
Welcoming Remarks
- Mr. Jair Urriola, Executive Secretary, Central American Commission for Environment and Development
- Mr. Chun Kyoo Park, Head of Office, UNOSD
- Mr. Luiz Krieger Merico, Chief, Sustainable Development Policy Unit, ECLAC
Introductory Session: Sustainable Development Goals and Solid Waste Management - Achieving a Waste Free Society and Economy
- Ms. Sara Castro-Hallgren, Sustainable Development Officer, UNOSD
Session I: Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean: main advances and challenges
- Mr. Luiz Krieger Merico, Chief, Sustainable Development Policy Unit, ECLAC
Session II: The life cycle for transitioning solid waste to resources in value chains
- Mr. Chun Kyoo Park, Head of Office, UNOSD
Session III: Regional context on circular economy and zero-waste: governance and policy structures for solid waste management
Moderator: Ms. Karina Martinez, ECLAC
Roadmap and regional process in harmonization of legislation in SICA countries
- Ms. Adriana Alvarado, GIZ/CCAD SICA
- Mr. Carlos Gonzales, CCAD SICA
Country Presentations
- Ms. Olga Segura Cárdenas, Coordinator, Integrated Waste Management and Circular Economy Planning, Environmental Health Unit, Ministry of Health, Costa Rica
- Ms. Petrona Gago, Technician, Integrated Waste and Hazardous Waste Management, Ministry of Environment of Nicaragua MARENA
- Ms. Mellany Díaz, Technical Advisor in Waste Management and Circular Economy, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala
- Mr. Mildred Márquez, Director of Environmental Management, Secretariat of Environment of Honduras
Session IV: Measuring what we waste - progress and gaps in solid waste management data
Moderator: Ms. Sara Castro-Hallgren, Sustainable Development Officer, UNOSD
- Mr. Marcus Newbury, Statistics Division, UN DESA
- Ms. Magda Correal, Senior Specialist, Water and Sanitation Division, IDB
- Mr. Rafael Valladares, Waste Flow Diagram-GIZ in Central America
Day 2 (24 July)
Session V: Transition to a circular economy for plastics
Moderator: Mr. Carlos Gonzales, CCAD SICA
- Mr. Pedro Sao Simao, Coordinator, Working Group on Plastics, World Economic Forum (virtual)
Session VI: Success stories in Central America on policies and practices for a waste-free society: value chains and the role of the private sector and PPPs
Moderator: Ms. Silvia Vides, Partnerships and Funding Officer, Office of the Resident Coordinator in El Salvador
- Mr. Rodrigo Samayoa, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, TERNOVA/Business Coalition
- Regional Center for the Promotion of MSMEs - CENPROMYPE
Session VII: Extended Producer Responsibility and the Formulation of Evidence-based Policies
Moderator: UNOSD, SICA, ECLAC
- Ms. Liliana Davila Stern, Central America Representative, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
- Mr. Je Dong-Sik, Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco)
Session VIII: Designing policies for resource circularity at the national level
Moderator: Mr. Luiz Fernando Krieger, Chief, Sustainable Development Policy Unit, ECLAC
- Group Exercise
Session IX: Generating data and evidence from the local to the national level
Moderator: Ms. Sara Castro-Hallgren, Sustainable Development Officer, UNOSD
- Mr. Marcus Newbury, Statistics Division, UN DESA
- Ms. Chaela Shin, Associate Policy Research and Development Expert, UNOSD
Day 3 (25 July)
Session X: Developing a roadmap - dialogue and brainstorming in plenary session
Moderator: UNOSD, SICA/CCAD, and ECLAC
- Open Discussion
Session XI: Action plans and next steps
- Presentation of action plans
- Next Steps and Roadmap
Field Trip - Ternova Recycling Plant
Participants
The policy dialogue includes government representatives and invited experts from the United Nations, international organizations and civil society representatives and others focused on resource circularity, circular economy, data management, and material flow management, as well as national to local MSW policies and practices.
Organisers
The policy dialogue is jointly organized UNOSD, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), UN Resident Coordinator's Office in El Salvador and the Central American Integration System Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), with the support of the Korean Environment Corporation (K-eco) of the Ministry of Environment of Republic of Korea.