June 30, 2021 will conclude the activities of the regional project, Strengthening External Control in the Environmental Area, implemented thanks to the strategic alliance between OLACEFS, the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU-Brazil) and the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development, through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Five and a half years of joint efforts, both with the various authorities and working bodies of the Organization, and with its membership, contributed to achieving the objective of this alliance: to promote and strengthen external environmental control, to help SAIs in the region to more effectively fulfill their role in improving environmental public management, and to influence the relevant role of SAIs for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

In this context, on May 6, 2021, a closing event and presentation of the results achieved was held. The virtual session brought together more than 250 attendees and featured the participation of Eco. Nelson Shack Yalta, Comptroller General of the Republic of Peru and President of OLACEFS; Dr. Jorge Bermúdez Soto, Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile and Executive Secretary of the Organization; Minister Augusto Nardes, Minister at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU-Brazil) and President of the Capacity Building Committee (CCC); Mr. Hugo Chudyson, Secretary of External Agro-Environmental Control at the TCU of Brazil, on behalf of the Presidency of the Special Technical Commission for the Environment (COMTEMA); as well as Mr. Erwin Alberto Ramírez, Director of the Regional Project at GIZ.

This was a commemorative event that gave an account of joint achievements in three areas of action: (1) strengthening the effectiveness of environmental auditing processes, (2) improving cooperation mechanisms between OLACEFS member SAIs and optimizing their services, as well as (3) strengthening communication with stakeholders (internal and external).

The event was the framework for the presentation of the publication Environmental Governance, a magazine that carefully compiles, and with the participation of the various commissions, committees and working groups of OLACEFS, the key information of the project, the regionally supported initiatives, as well as the results achieved. It also includes various testimonies from authorities, audit staff, specialists and other relevant stakeholders on the legacy of the project at OLACEFS and even at other regional SAI organizations, through coordinated audits, courses and actions for the development of capacities in the environmental area, citizen engagement mechanisms, initiatives to promote strategic communication of audit products and innovative methodological approaches.

The magazine (the first of two planned issues) is not only a contribution to knowledge management, but also a tribute to the efforts of auditors, support staff and authorities in SAIs and OLACEFS bodies that made this project possible and whose work resulted in initiatives, tools, workshops, courses and methodologies available to the 22 SAIs that make up the Organization.

We invite you to see the first magazine, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as to attend the closing session of the regional project, available in the same languages on the OLACEFS YouTube channel.

The second regional project with the German Cooperation has successfully concluded, while OLACEFS prepares to enter a new phase of technical cooperation. More information coming soon.

For more information, you can consult the following:

Concluding Session of the OLACEFS-GIZ Regional Project in the Environmental Area:

Magazine Environmental Governance – Compilation of Initiatives and Project Results:

Magazine Environmental Governance – Compilation of Initiatives and Project Results – Brazil:

Environmental Governance: Regional Project Strengthening External Control in the Environmental Area 2016-2021 | TCU Portal

Information from the OLACEFS-GIZ Regional Project in the Environmental Area: