Experts from UNDP’s environmental and energy center in Panama visit CABEI

UNDP officials, Chris Briggs, head of Environment and Energy; Andrew Bovarnick, Global Head, Green Product Platform and Natural Resource Chief Economist; and Mateo Salomón, Climate Change Technical Analyst, arrived at the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) today on a two-day mission.

The experts held work meetings with CABEI officers to collaborate in defining a regional action plan that will promote environmental conservation and reduce climate change, identify new areas of cooperation and train personnel regarding climate change, among others. The visitors were welcomed by Carlos Watson, Head of International Cooperation and External Financing, the department responsible for monitoring the implementation of the agreement between CABEI and the UNDP.

In addition to meeting with the team of experts from CABEI’s Financing for the Majority program led by Sergio Avilés, the UNDP mission also met with Manuel Torres, Head of Pre-Investment and Technical Cooperation; Silvia Adriana Flores, Head of External Programs and Funds; and José Deras, CABEI interim Chief Economist.

The CABEI officers informed the visitors about the high impact levels produced by the Institutional Strategy during 2011 and to date in 2012, demonstrated by the financing of the construction and improvement of nearly 500 kilometers of the road network; 255 MW of renewable energy generation, expanding the region’s current installed capacity by almost 4%; 5.273 m2 in higher education infrastructure; and the construction of 4,133 houses.

They also reported that, as a whole, the Bank’s strategy has directly benefitted 12.2 million inhabitants, 540 thousand families, 7,700 MSMEs, 2,000 higher education students and 38 financial institutions in the region.

They also discussed the beginning of construction of the CAMBio 2 Project, which is expected to involve training the selected personnel and a review of existing tools and strategies.

The UNDP representatives referred to the possibility of expanding work in certain areas, such as the production of coffee, pineapple and other products, as well as fostering sustainable water management and the use of improved wood-burning stoves.

This visit is in the framework of an agreement signed last May, in which CABEI and UNDP strengthened their partnership to deepen their impact on sustainable economic development, integration, poverty eradication, human development, governance and natural resource protection in the Central American countries.

This initiative is consistent with the CABEI 2010-2014 Institutional Strategy, "Competitiveness with Social Integration and Development," pursuant to its strategic objective of social development and also contributes to the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).