On 5-6 November, the4th Meeting of the Argentina-Brazil Informal Mechanism on Environmental Consultations was held at the Palacio San Martín. In addition to the Brazilian delegation, the meeting was attended by officials from the Directorate for Environmental Affairs of the Foreign Ministry and representatives from the Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development, the Secretariat for Agro-Industry and the National Parks Administration.
The meeting served as an opportunity to build consensus on items on the bilateral and multilateral agenda, such as transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, financing arrangements for agreements on the handling of chemical substances, the Sub-Working Group on Environmental Affairs of MERCOSUR, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and sustainable tourism and ecosystem corridors for protecting biodiversity between the Iguazú National Park and its neighbouring Brazilian park, as well as protocols for the control of invasive exotic species, United Nations conventions on Biological Diversity and to Combat Desertification, the Global Pact for the Environment, and the recently signed Escazú Agreement.
Furthermore, progress was made on the implementation of the recently signed Understanding Memorandum on Chemical Substances, and a possible Memorandum of Understanding to improve the protection of endangered species of flora and fauna.
The Undersecretary for Foreign Policy, Gustavo Zlauvinen, closed the meeting, highlighting this positive step towards strengthening bilateral relations in view of the productive work towards an instrument arising out of the bilateral Treaty on environmental cooperation, whose last meeting had been held in Brasilia in 2013.
Press Release No. 447/18
