DECLARATION OF SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA 1.

We, the elected Heads of State and Government of the Americas, gathered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra as decided at the Summit of the Americas held in Miami in 1994, reaffirm our determination to move for ard to ard sustaina!le develo"ment and to im"lement the decisions and commitments set forth in the #io $eclaration and Agenda %1, hich ere ado"ted at the &nited 'ations Conference on (nvironment and $evelo"ment, held in #io de )aneiro in 199%. We also reaffirm the commitments underta*en in the $eclaration of +rinci"les and the +lan of Action of the Summit of the Americas. We underta*e to "romote the agreements reached at the Glo!al Conference on the Sustaina!le $evelo"ment of Small ,sland $evelo"ing States, held in -ar!ados in 1994, and recognize the im"ortance of the "rinci"les enunciated at recent &nited 'ations conferences concerning sustaina!le develo"ment. We su""ort the efforts launched at the hemis"heric, regional, and su!regional levels, such as the Central American Alliance for Sustaina!le $evelo"ment, the 'orth American Agreement on (nvironmental Coo"eration, the .reat/ for Amazonian Coo"eration, and the +ermanent South +acific Commission. %. We reaffirm that human !eings are entitled to a health/ and "roductive life in harmon/ ith nature and, as such, are the focus of sustaina!le develo"ment concerns. $evelo"ment strategies need to include sustaina!ilit/ as an essential re0uirement for the !alanced, interde"endent, and integral attainment of economic, social, and environmental goals. 1. 2ne essential feature of the Americas is their natural and cultural diversit/. 2ur countries share a uni0ue and rich "olitical tradition grounded in democratic values and significant "otential for economic gro th and technological develo"ment in a conte3t of o"en, mar*et4!ased economies. .hese characteristics are of fundamental im"ortance for the "romotion of economic develo"ment and social elfare and for the "reservation of a health/ environment. We ill ado"t "olicies and strategies that ill encourage changes in "roduction and consum"tion "atterns in order to attain sustaina!le develo"ment and a !etter 0ualit/ of life, as ell as to "reserve our natural environment and contri!ute to the alleviation of "overt/. We reaffirm our commitment to the fundamental "rinci"le of the Charter of the 2rganization of American States, restated at the Summit of the Americas, that re"resentative democrac/ is essential for "eace, 5ustice, and develo"ment. Sustaina!le develo"ment re0uires that e strengthen and "romote our democratic institutions and values.