Americas Capacity Assessment (ACA)

Strengthening the Environmental Foundation for Sustainable Development in the Americas:

"…the protection of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources are essential to prosperity and to the sustainability of our economies, as well as the quality of life and health for present and future generations…"

(Quebec City Summit of the Americas Plan of Action, 2001)

IISD Americas projects have been carried out by members of the trade team, and the measurement and assessment team. Click here for a link to past IISD projects related to Western Hemispheric integration.

The ACA Project

The ACA Project seeks to strengthen capacity for environmental and sustainable development (ESD) management in the Americas. The ACA Project is being carried out by a network of institutes and research centres from across the Americas, over a two-year period. The first component of the project (Americas Capacity Assessment) works to identify hemispheric gaps and priorities for ESD capacity and institution building, increase awareness of ESD issues among policy-makers in the Americas, and engage LAC civil society and government partners. The second component of the project (Americas Capacity Action) seeks to build strategic alliances in social, environmental and economic spheres in the Americas; design and pilot capacity building materials on linkages between these fields; and engage Americas decision-makers in the design of hemispheric sustainable development cooperation initiatives toward the Argentina Summit of the Americas. A third component is planned to disseminate project results and engage in follow-up activities.

The ACA Project is a joint initiative of the IISD, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through their Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC). It relies to a great extent on partnership with leading research institutes and organizations throughout the Americas, including CEMDA, CINPE, CEDA, RIDES, ECOS, CIEDUR, CEDHA, CEHI and CIECA, FOCAL, the Organization of American States. In the first component of the ACA Project, research partners are conducting joint civil society and expert analysis, building on results of existing studies and a "reality check" survey, to uncover national and sub-regional gaps in existing capacity and identify priorities for future hemispheric ESD capacity-building initiatives.