Second Annual Meeting of the UNIDO regional Cleaner Production Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean

Managua, Nicaragua. 2-5 July 2006

The Second Annual Meeting of the UNIDO Regional Cleaner Production Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, financed by the Austrian government and seco, took place in Managua, Nicaragua, from the 2nd to the 5th July 2006. 32 persons participated in the meeting, including the directors of the National Cleaner Producion Centres and Programmes in the region, representatives of UN organizations, cooperation institutions and experts involved in the Cleaner Production initiatives of the region.

During the meeting the members of the Regional Programme analyzed the results of the first year of activity, which include the complete establishment and operation of the organizational and management structure of the Programme, the development and launching of the Internet platform of the Knowledge Management System, the preparation of specific PR materials and the formulation and negotiation of joint regional projects focusing on priority topics and industrial sectors of the region.

The meeting provided the representatives of the 14 countries that now participate in the Regional Programme the opportunity to define the action plan for the second year of activity and identify a strategy for the strengthening and development of the Regional Programme.

One of the most significant events of the regional meeting was the donors' meeting, which took place on the 5th July. 16 donors' representatives participated in the event, inaugurated by Mr. Mauricio Gomez, Vice Minister of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Nicaragua, Ms. Michaela Ellmeier, Director of the Cooperation Office of the Austrian Government in Nicaragua, and Ms. Mayra Sanchez-Osuna, Deputy Director of the UNIDO Energy and Cleaner Production Branch. During the event, UNIDO and the 14 directors of the National Cleaner Production Centres and Programmes of the region presented to the participants the Regional Cleaner Production Programme and the jointly developed regional projects.