EL SALVADOR
Statement by Herman Rosa Chávez
Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20
Rio de Janeiro, June 21, 2012
Mr. President,
Excellences,
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by thanking the Brazilian people for their warmth and hospitality. I also wish
to recognize the transparency with which the Presidency of Brazil has led this process
which confirms the importance of preserving and strengthening multilateralism to solve
global problems.
We know that it has not been easy to reach a consensus declaration with such diverse
positions and it will not be easy to explain in our respective countries that the great
achievement in Rio +20 has been to avoid a major setback in relation to the principles and
guidelines that we adopted 20 years ago. Indeed, the outcome that we have is just a
sterile gauze to control the hemorrhage from a bleeding wound.
Mr. President
Rio 92 bequeathed us an extraordinary declaration of principles, including the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities, which recognizes the historical contribution
from different countries to global environmental degradation. But here we had to defend
tooth and nail this principle.
Rio 92 also gave us the conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification,
but since then the spirit of Rio 92 has been eroded and worst there has been a systematic
disregard for the commitments that were made.
The most obvious example is in the climate change convention. The commitments on
funding, technology transfer and capacity building to address climate change have not
been met. In addition, the emissions of greenhouse gases increased aggravating the
disturbance of the global climate system.
Mr. President
For El Salvador and the countries of the Central American Integration System - SICA - the
adverse effects of climate change entail substantial losses and damages that exceed our
financial capabilities and undermine our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals and sustainable development. In this regard, we urge the international community to
recognize the effects of climate change in the Central American Isthmus and facilitate
cooperation and financial and nonfinancial support for adaptation to climate change and
integrated risk management.
Mr. President
Let me illustrate with the case of El Salvador the dramatic situation experienced by Central
America. Until the eighties El Salvador was affected by one or two extreme weather events
per decade. In contrast, in the last three years we were hit by five extreme weather events,
two from the Caribbean and three from the Pacific Ocean. The last three were so severe
that left us losses and damages of $1.300 million dollars, equivalent to 6% of GDP.
But we are not remaining passive. In the last three years we strengthened systematic
climate observation and we now have one of the most comprehensive and advanced
monitoring system in Latin America. We also strengthened our Civil Protection System and
for the most affected sectors such as infrastructure and agriculture we have developed is
strategies for climate change adaptation. In addition, we have a state environmental policy
which aims at reversing environmental degradation in our territory and reducing our
vulnerability to climate change.
Mr. President
We know our priorities and we know what we need to do to build a robust and climateresilient
economy which is able to generate quality jobs so that our youth can find a future
in our country instead of being forced to emigrate. But we cannot do this alone, especially
when we have to spend much of our resources to meet emergencies and reconstruct what
we lose year after year.
Twenty years ago, also in 1992, El Salvador put an end to a 12 year civil war with the
support of the international community and the direct mediation of the UN Secretary
General. With our historic Peace Accords El Salvador began to take the first steps towards
a strong and lasting democracy.
Twenty years later a changing climate has become our greatest threat and again we
require the international solidarity to build the pillars for a sustainable development that
provides opportunities for all.
With the support of the international community El Salvador can be an example of what
can be achieved in a short time to adapt to climate change. And although the contribution
of El Salvador to climate change is insignificant my country is also willing to do its part to
mitigate climate change and has built a innovative proposal for adaptation based
mitigation.
Mr President,
It is urgent that we recapture the enthusiasm and the spirit of Rio 92 particularly now that
we face multiple global crises. This is not the time to pull back from the commitments. On
the contrary, the commitments that have been made must be fulfilled without excuses or
delays. Our common future is at stake.
Thank you very much.
