Constitutive Agreement of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD)

The Constitutive Agreement of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development is a regional agreement signed in San José on December 12, 1989, by the Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, establishing a regional cooperation regime for the optimal and rational use of natural resources, pollution control, and restoration of ecological balance in Central America. The Agreement creates CCAD as an executive entity responsible for directing and administering this regime, with the mandate to formulate strategies to promote environmentally sustainable development, develop action plans, valorize and protect the regional natural heritage characterized by its high biological and ecosystem diversity, and strengthen national environmental management institutions. The institutional structure comprises the Commission integrated by governmental representatives, a rotating annual Presidency, an executive Secretariat, ad-hoc technical commissions, and a patrimonial fund formed by State contributions and international donations. The Agreement establishes priority action areas including environmental education, protection of shared watersheds and ecosystems, tropical forest management, urban pollution control, and toxic substance management, promoting participatory, democratic, and decentralized environmental management in the Central American region.