The future climate scenarios indicate that this vulnerability could increase if deterioration of natural systems trends continue growing in the region. The origins of this deterioration lie on the overexplotation, the vast inequality and limited governance on the environment.

We believe that it's time to meet the new conditions of development by climate change, precisely because the region is beginning to leave behind decades of instability and slow growth. We must adapt our public finances and our patterns of investment to the new environmental, create insurance and other mechanisms to mitigate risk, minimize losses and to seize opportunities to correct what is necessary. We must also avoid the socialization of private losses through private finances, in order to preserve the economic health and stability of the region's governments.

Ministers supported further work on the OECD Environmental Outlook, building on the lessons learned and recommendations of the just published Outlook, especially on the four “red light” issues – climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity and health impacts of pollution. Building on the experience with the Outlook, Ministers requested the OECD to update the OECD Environmental Strategy for the 2nd Decade of the 21st Century.

Many of the water resources pollution control are geared to the utilization of economic instruments. This article analizes the situation of water resources pollution at regional level by contrasting the gap between the statements about the importance of protecting water quality and the minimum efforts to achieve the goal. It questions in particular the effectiveness of economic instruments when several previous user organization and water management necessary conditions do not exist . As it is the case in the countries in the region.