A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a national or regional environmental database of potentially hazardous emissions of chemicals to air, water and soil and transfers off-site of chemical waste to treatment and final disposal locations. A PRTR can provide important information on what pollutants are being released in a territory, as well as where exactly and how much is being released. One of the main objectives of PRTRs is to enhance the communities’ right-to-know by making environmental information public and allowing civil society to become better informed about pollutants in their communities. In addition, this kind of data helps governmental authorities on tracking pollutant releases and prioritizing actions and policies to reduce these emissions and their adverse effects on human health and the environment. This information also provides a basis for industry to become proactive in the adoption of cleaner production techniques.

As part of a project implemented by UNITAR and the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) with financial support from the Government of Spain, PRTR technical meetings were held in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras on 13-21 June 2011. The project supports the design of national PRTRs in these countries as a contribution to the future implementation of a regional PRTR in Central America (which would be the third regional PRTR established globally, after the EU and North American PRTRs, and the first one in a developing-country context). Along with the activities in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras, PRTR design projects are also being implemented in Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama. National PRTRs that will be implemented in all countries of the region will later feed into the future regional PRTR.

The technical meetings aimed at bringing together technical officers from Government, NGOs and the private sector in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras and international experts from Chile, Mexico and Spain who worked in the successful implementation of PRTRs in their respective countries (already operating for approximately 10 years).

The technical officer in charge of the current design of a PRTR in Peru was also invited to contribute with Peru’s experience in this process. Experts shared lessons learned on correctly defining the scope of the national PRTR system, addressing legal implementation issues, developing data collection and management procedures, and developing data analysis and data dissemination procedures. Participation of national officers was very active. Knowledge shared between international experts and national counterparts will be valuable for the next steps on designing PRTRs in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras, followed later by a pilot trial of the designed system and the development of a final proposal of the system to be presented to decision-makers for further implementation.