Implementing efficient legal and private-law provisions in order to protect biodiversity and to act against climate change requires an effective and efficient, demand-oriented quality infrastructure (QI). The QI institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean are not yet able to provide the requested QI services to a sufficient extent.

The project aims to improve the QI services which serve the protection of biodiversity and of climate in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Hereby, the existing internationally interconnected and recognized QI structures are to be consolidated. This reduces the risk of creating isolated solutions and cost-intensive redundant structures which would induce high costs for the users of QI services, for the consumers, industry and the governments. In addition, this project is intended to promote regional cooperation and integration. The project is aimed at supporting the transition process towards a "green economy" from the viewpoint of both industry and the consumers. It is planned to focus on:

• regional exchange with regard to ISO sustainability standards and development of standards on biodiversity and climate protection;
• improving the metrological system in the fields of biodiversity and climate protection;
• developing and implementing programmes for validation, verification and certification in the fields of biodiversity and climate protection, and
• developing and implementing new accreditation programmes related to biodiversity and climate protection.

The structure envisaged for the project is a fund-type structure. It is supposed to provide an optimum gearing of the project activities to the different national and sub-regional framework conditions. National and regional QI institutions submitted project proposals with respect to both sets of topics "Biodiversity" and "Climate Protection"; these proposals were assessed and selected by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) according to well-defined criteria. The fund-type structure of the project allows the different needs of the QI institutions to be addressed with more flexibility, trendsetting projects to be implemented exemplarily and different QI elements to be used along the value chains, both in the individual countries and in the region.

The lead executing agency is the Organization of American States (OAS). The regional organizations of standardization (Comisión Panamericana de Normas Técnicas, COPANT), of metrology (Sistema Interamericano de Metrología, SIM) and of accreditation (Inter American Accreditation Cooperation, IAAC) primarily act as strategic partners, their member organizations are directly involved in the implementation.

Components of promotion are specialized, organizational and process consultation measures, e.g., to support harmonization processes within the scope of short-term measures carried out by international experts, as well as training measures, comparison measurements, seminars and exchange of experience for employees of national and regional QI institutions in all fields that are related to the topics of biodiversity and climate protection.

The funding volume of the project amounts to 2 000 000 euros from 2013 to 2017. The target group of the project are the governments of the partner countries as well as industry, trade and commerce, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and private households. The intermediaries are the national and regional QI institutions.