The toxicity of certain chemicals reaching the marine environment has aroused public concern which, in turn, has been translated by administrators in many countries into legislative measures designed to prevent marine pollution and consequent incidents.

The present document provides a synthesis of the voluntary submissions prepared by functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council and other intergovernmental bodies and forums. It synthesizes the 62 voluntary submissions received as at 23 April 2019 and does not suggest a formal reporting link to the forum or modify any entity’s mandate or governance. It reflects how the intergovernmental bodies are responding to the theme of the 2019 high-level political forum, including the lessons learned, gaps and challenges and emerging issues identified, as well as the recommendations developed, by the entities.

As the search for new solutions to environmental degradation intensifies, it is clear that the process by which regulatory solutions are designed and enforced by public agencies upon the private sector is becoming increasingly obsolete. There are numerous reasons for this important shift in the way in which environmental decisions and environmental policies take shape

The original aim of this study was to serve as an input for the Regional Preparatory Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 23 and 24 October 2001. The substance of the present document, in which an overview of the sustainable development situation in the region since the Rio Summit is offered for consideration by governments, is largely drawn from national processes and subregional meetings. These meetings, unprecedented in processes of this type, have intensified the countries' participation and enabled them to identify the main stumbling blocks and the prospects for a future platform of action. One major contributor to the process has been civil society, through its participation in national sustainable development councils and in meetings held at subregional events, which have provided an opportunity for the region's main groupings to air their views.