It notes that everywhere in the region it will be necessary to overcome inadequacies in legislation dealing with, and weaknesses in institutions responsible for, natural resources and the environment, if the trend towards environmental degradation is to be reversed. A significant effort must therefore be made to establish efficient institutional mechanisms to address environmental matters which entail the coordination of decision-making processes and the promotion of participation processes through local public and private organizations.
Key attributes are pluralism, accountability, and transparency.
In the area of environmental protection, the specific themes arising from the good governance model are economic incentives for environmental management, and citizen participation. This new model has potential risks for those countries in Latin America and the Caribbean or their communities that are currently ill-equipped to adapt because they lack finance, skills, technology, information or experience. These potential negative consequences require the adoption of innovative, yet practical and implementable, legal and economic instruments for environmental management, including pollution control.