A/HRC/43/54 environmental democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. On a positive note, judicial systems in Latin America have pioneered the use of simplified and expedited legal procedures that have dramatically increased access to justice. These processes have provided citizens and non-governmental organizations with unprecedented opportunities to employ the judicial system in pursuit of their right to a healthy environment. 39. Participants observed that environmental laws in Latin America and the Caribbean are often strong on paper but weak in reality. The main reasons for this are a lack of enforcement resources and a reluctance to enforce laws when doing so could adversely affect economic interests. In some States, the challenge of adequate enforcement is exacerbated by ineffective, complicated and incomplete laws; officials who lack skills, training and resources; and the need for extensive technical and scientific expertise. The implementation and enforcement of environmental laws in the region have also been constrained by high inflation, regional financial crises, and international agendas relating to deregulation and privatization. Some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean face ongoing political turmoil, extensive poverty and dependence on a small number of export commodities, mainly agricultural products, minerals and energy resources. Latin America is a major supplier of natural resources to the global economy, at a significant cost to the regional environment. Another problem is that some States in the region are plagued by “ultra-presidentialism”, in which the president has extraordinary powers that undermine both the operation of and respect for the rule of law. IV. Cross-pollinating ideas: international, regional and national influences 40. Participants discussed ways of creating synergies in the promotion and implementation of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment at all levels, building upon the previous discussions about good practices and barriers. Four processes were identified as contributing to the globalization of the right to a healthy environment, namely transplantation, harmonization, integration and convergence. Transplantation occurs when one State intentionally copies or adapts significant portions of laws, regulations or policies from another State. It is clear that this has occurred in the context of the right to a healthy environment, given that similar language is used around the world to articulate this right. 41. For example, the phrase “right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment” was first used in the Constitution of Portugal in 1976 and is now found in at least 20 other constitutions. National courts frequently cite decisions from other national courts. The decisions of the Supreme Court of India on the right to a healthy environment have influenced courts in Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Uganda. The Internet facilitates transplantation by making constitutions, legislation and case law increasingly accessible. Courts are often interested in decisions from other States, especially involving cases about human rights because of their universal nature. 42. Harmonization refers to the process of adjusting and conforming national standards to meet the requirements of an international system. Integration is the process of linking national legal systems. Both harmonization and integration are occurring most prominently in the European Union, where new members must upgrade environmental laws and all members must comply with European Union-wide environmental directives. Harmonization will also occur in Latin America and the Caribbean when the Escazú Agreement comes into force. Convergence describes how distinct legal systems, like biological species, can evolve to become more similar, not as a result of deliberate acts of copying but rather as a response to similar external pressures, especially environmental pressures. 43. Participants noted that the Escazú Agreement was influenced by the Aarhus Convention, yet it had evolved to fit its specific regional context with the groundbreaking addition of provisions to enhance protection for environmental human rights defenders. Participants asked how these regional agreements could be extended to, or emulated in, other regions, and how States with constitutional environmental rights could encourage 11