The Rio Conference of 1992 was convened upon the acknowledgement that patterns of production and consumption, especially in developed countries, had reached unsustainable levels, jeopardizing the stability of several environmental goods and services that guarantee not only the continuity of productive activities but also the quality of life itself, with the intention to pave the way to revert this situation in the benefit of the world. The objectives of the Latin American and the Caribbean Initiative are the following: a) Consolidating and continuing the efforts of Latin America and the Caribbean, at the different levels of Government and civil society, in order to overcome obstacles in the implementation of programmes and projects of interest to the region in implementing the recommendations of Agenda 21, emphasizing effective implementation and the development of participation mechanisms in the Caribbeanb) Developing actions in selected areas that, based on the political will of States, stimulate the participation of the private sector and of civil society in order to promote investments that may generate sustainable productive activities and, at the same time, allow for the conservation and sustainable use of environmental goods and services essential to lifec) Promoting the implementation of sustainable development models on the foundation of an ethical basis that are competitive and supported by public policies devoted to formulating science and technology, financing, human resources capacity-building, institutional development, valuation of goods and services and development of sustainability indicators adapted to the social, economic, environmental and political conditions of each country or to the needs of sub-regional groups of countries.