COORDINATED AUDIT ABOUT THE OVERSIGHT OF THE PUBLIC REVENUES FROM THE OIL AND NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, AND PERU

Report ID: 307

The performance audit on the audit of public revenues from the exploitation and production of oil and natural gas in Brazil, Colombia and Peru was carried out by the Supreme Audit Institutions of these countries. This audit was carried out in the coordinated audit modality, within the framework of the activities of the OLACEFS Capacity Building Committee, and was supported by GIZ.

Hydrocarbon production is a highly relevant economic activity for many Latin American countries because, in addition to its strategic energy importance, it generates significant impacts on public revenues, mainly through the receipt of government contributions. As a result, the correct control of these resources by the State is a sensitive issue.

The objective of the coordinated audit, under the performance approach, was to assess the regulatory, institutional and operational conditions in which the government agencies and entities responsible for controlling the measurement of oil and natural gas production and for controlling the calculation and payment of government shares from this production, identifying possible obstacles and opportunities for improvement, as well as good practices that contribute to the improvement of management. 

In addition, the audit included an analysis of the experience of the coordinated audit, based on a) the perspectives and main results of the audit for the countries; b) the perspectives and main results of the audit for the SAIs; and c) the opinion on the experience of the coordinated audit.

SOURCE: http://www.wgei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/auditoria-coordenada-de-petroleo-e-gas_Ingles_web.pdf

Report available in english and also in spanish.

Coordinated Audit of Protected Areas (1st edition) - Executive Summary

Report ID: 311

Protected Areas (PA) are created considering the relevant natural characteristics of the territories, with defined geographical limits, and as a response to the need for biodiversity conservation. These areas are recognised by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as a global strategy for biodiversity conservation. In this sense, the international commitment establishes targets for the protection of terrestrial and marine areas that must be achieved through the implementation of ecologically representative and effectively managed systems of protected areas.

In this context, within the framework of the activities of the Special Technical Commission on the Environment(COMTEMA) of the Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS), the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (Coordinating SAI), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay (Coordinating SAI), Peru and Venezuela carried out a coordinated audit. This audit was supported by the German Cooperation GIZ.

The audit assessed whether Latin America's terrestrial protected areas have the institutional, regulatory and operational conditions necessary to achieve the objectives for which they were created. As part of this audit it was possible to evaluate 1120 protected areas in a standardised manner, which made it possible to produce a unique diagnosis of public policy on biodiversity conservation in the region.

To analyse the governance of protected areas, SAI Brazil created INDIMAPA, a method for the Evaluation of the Implementation and Management of Protected Areas. This georeferenced tool uses indicators and indexes which are displayed on maps, in addition to allowing the classification of protected areas into three ranges: red, yellow and green, corresponding respectively to the low, medium and high level of management implementation.

In this way, based on the coordinated audit, the society and the Control Institutions will be able to follow the evolution in the administration of the environmental public patrimony represented by the protected areas.

Source: https://www.olacefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Executive-Summary-Auditon-Protected-Areas-of-Latin-America-web.pdf

*This report is also available in spanish in the catalogue.

2019 Final Report Transboundary movement of waste according to Basel Convention

Report ID: 328

The European Union has incorporated the Basel Convention into the Waste Shipment Regulation. It applies automatically and uniformly in the Member States of the European Union without the need for transposition into national law. The regulation is binding to all Member States in its entirety.

Partly based on the results of the 2008 cooperative audit performed on compliance of international obligations in the management of hazardous waste across the borders of their states, the SAIs of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine agreed to re-conduct the joint international audit.

The purpose of the international audit was to establish the facts and assess the degree of compliance with the provisions of the Basel Convention for the cross-border movement of waste between Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland.

The audit was performed as performance with compliance elements. In addition, in defining the tasks of individual bodies in terms of the relevant legislation, it was evaluated how and to what extent the individual activities were performed. The audit therefore assessed not only the legality of procedures in transboundary movements of waste but also the efficiency of the activities performed and the overall effectiveness of the management system of waste transboundary movements.

Source: https://www.nku.gov.sk/documents/10272/1542112/Bazilejsk%C3%A1+dohoda+EN_2.pdf

IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE LOS COMPROMISOS ASUMIDOS EN LA CONVENCIÓN MARCO DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO

Report ID: 332

En la VII Reunión de la COMTEMA  de la OLACEFS (Buenos Aires, abril de 2009), se propuso considerar el tema del Cambio Climático como eje central de las acciones de la Comisión, atendiendo a la preocupante situación ambiental y a la alta vulnerabilidad de los países de la región. Como resultado, se acordó realizar una auditoría en cooperación sobre Cambio climático. La auditoría en cooperación fue coordinada por la EFS de Brasil y contó con la participación de las EFS de: Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panamá, Paraguay y Perú.

El objetivo general de la auditoría fue evaluar la gestión desarrollada por los organismos y entidades gubernamentales de los países de la región responsables de la implementación de la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático. Como objetivos específicos se abordaron:

- Evaluar el cumplimiento de los compromisos asumidos en la implementación de políticas, planes, programas y acciones gubernamentales con relación a la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático.

- Determinar si los gobiernos desarrollaron estrategias y planes de mitigación apropiados para cumplir con los compromisos adquiridos en la Convención y su grado de avance.

- Determinar si los gobiernos desarrollaron estrategias y planes de adaptación relacionados con la evaluación de la vulnerabilidad a los impactos del CC, y si los puso en práctica en respuesta a los riesgos evaluados.

La auditoría se desarrolló de conformidad con los lineamientos del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Auditoría Ambiental de la Organización Internacional de Entidades Fiscalizadoras Superiores (WGEA-INTOSAI) sobre el desarrollo de auditorías en cooperación. Así, los equipos de auditoría de cada EFS participante elaboraron reportes nacionales conforme a su normativa, a partir de líneas de investigación comunes, las cuales se detallan en el Anexo 1 del informe.

La auditoría reveló las restricciones y dificultades en el cumplimiento de los objetivos y metas establecidos en las políticas públicas, así como los riesgos asociados, en las diversas entidades gubernamentales responsables de la gestión del Cambio Climático.

Fuente: https://www.olacefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/09.pdf

International Cooperation Audit Report "Environmental Management for the Protection of Natural Resources in the Amazon Region"

Report ID: 335

The Amazon Basin is equivalent to 41% of the South American Continental space, in which participate Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and French Guiana, so that enables find a high number of thermic floors; hence, the diversity of endemic species of flora and fauna. In the Amazonia there are 1150 rivers of different magnitude that carry more than 20% of world’s freshwater.  All this richness is being in danger by the destructive combination created by the Global Warming and Deforestation

The singular importance of the Amazon Basin  motivated the Comptroller General's Offices of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and the Court of Accounts of Brazil to sign a Cooperation Agreement to conduct a coordinated audit to evaluate the management carried out by their respective governments regarding the policies of conservation and management of the natural and cultural heritage of the Amazon region.

Thi cooperative audit was performed under the framework of the activities of OLACEFS  Environment Special Technical Commission. The audit in cooperation included a selective evaluation of the principal public institutions of each country, in charge of implementing the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, in order to establish the proper level of compliance
with the commitments arising from said Treaty and the management executed by government entities.

The objectives of the audit were:

• To assess the management conducted by the governments of the countries of the Amazon Region, about meeting the goals and commitments established in the framework of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, with the aim to elaborate a report that contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of the natural and cultural resources of the region.

• To assess the management developed by government agencies and entities responsible for the conservation, management of natural and cultural heritage of the Amazon region, aimed at finding sustainable development and social cohesion.

The audit was supported by In Went – Capacity Building International of Germany that accepted the initiative to develop the audit, through the regional office for the Andean countries, and also financed important aspects for the execution of this work.

Source: https://www.contraloria.gob.ec/Informativo/InformesAuditoriaAmbiental/AuditoriaAmbiental