Para el Grupo de Investigación en Derecho del Medio Ambiente de la Universidad Externado de Colombia, así como para la Dirección de Desarrollo Sectorial del Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, resulta grato y satisfactorio poder presentarle al país, a los sectores productivos y a la comunidad académica nacional e internacional el libro Avances y perspectivas de la aplicación de las evaluaciones ambientales estratégicas en Colombia. Es el producto del trabajo de divulgación, de apoyo y de promoción de esta herramienta de planificación, que se ha venido dando por parte del Externado y del Ministerio en los últimos dos años. Desde la aprobación del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo para el período 2002- 2006, el Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial ha venido promoviendo la Evaluación Ambiental Estratégica (EAE), como una poderosa herramienta de planificación sectorial, dirigida principalmente a la prevención de los riesgos y los efectos ambientales de las políticas, planes y programas públicos y privados. Este tipo de evaluación integra criterios, valores y principios ambientales, éticos, sociales y de salud pública a lo largo de los procesos de toma de decisiones para el desarrollo, conjuntamente con consideraciones de orden económico y social.

The North American Mosaic has four overarching features. First, it is, to the extent feasible, based on comparable information on the status and trends of major indicators of the state of the environment in Canada,Mexico, and the United States. Second, the report confirms that these three countries together make up an incredibly complex, dynamic, and interconnected ecosystem in which humans play a dominant and decisive role. Third, the report raises important and sometimes disquieting questions concerning the sustainability of some current trends. Finally, the report is a reminder that our economic, social, and physical well-being are utterly dependent on the life-sustaining services provided by nature. This report emphasizes the importance of developing mutually compatible economic, social, and environmental goals and policies across the three-country region.

This edition of the World Bank has been revised and expanded by the Terminology Unit in the Languages Services Division of the World Bank in collaboration with the English, Spanish, and French Translation Sections. The Glossary is intended to assist the Bank's translators and interpreters, other Bank staff using French and Spanish in their work, and free-lance translator's and interpreters employed by the Bank. For this reason, the Glossary contains not only financial and economic terminology and terms relating to the Bank's procedures and practices, but also terms that frequently occur in Bank documents, and others for which the Bank has a preferred equivalent. Although many of these terms, relating to such fields as agriculture, education, energy, housing, law, technology, and transportation, could be found in other sources, they have been assembled here for ease of reference. A list of acronyms occurring frequently in Bank texts (the terms to which they refer being found in the Glossary) and a list of international, regional, and national organizations will be found at the end of the Glossary.

This review assesses the performance of Colombian agriculture over the last two decades, evaluates Colombian agricultural policy reforms and provides recommendations to address key challenges in the future.