On Thursday morning, the Ministerial Segment of the 18th Session of the Forum of Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean (FME18) opened with addresses by: Marcela Aguiñaga, Environment Minister, Ecuador; Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); María Fernanda Espinosa, Minister of National Patrimony, Ecuador; and Ricardo Patiño, Foreign Minister, Ecuador.

The meeting selected its officers, with Ecuadorian Environment Minister Marcela Aguiñaga as Chair, and Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Uruguay as Vice-Chairs.  Peru was named as Rapporteur. Ministers then heard the message from the two regional consultation meetings of representatives of the main civil society groups, held in 2010 and 2011.

In their opening statements, Ministers focused principally on the issues of the relationship between FME and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). While several delegations voiced support for making FME18 also the first meeting of the CELAC Environment Ministers and spending time on providing direction for CELAC's environment work, two delegations said they did not have a mandate to agree to such a step and others expressed concern about this unscheduled issue adversely affecting an already crowded agenda.

The meeting adopted without discussion seven decisions drafted by the Preparatory Meeting of High Level Experts on: governance; environmental education; regional financial strategy; atmospheric pollution; environmental indicators; sustainable consumption and production; and chemicals and hazardous waste. A new proposal on landlocked countries was also adopted. Following consultations, decisions on SIDS and on Central American and Caribbean countries were also adopted.

In the afternoon, delegates discussed the messages FME18 might wish to take to the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) summarized the current state of sustainable development in the region. María Fernanda Espinosa, Minister of National Patrimony, Ecuador, and Fander Falcony, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador, presented on Ecuador's visions for Rio+20 and sustainable development. After an intervention by Isabella Teixeira, Brazilian Environment Minister, regarding preparations for Rio+20, various delegations offered their perspectives and ideas for Rio+20.

Throughout the day, a contact group drafting the Declaration of Quito continued the negotiations begun during the Preparatory Meeting of High-Level Experts.

In the evening, delegates attended a gastronomical tour, hosted by the Government of Ecuador.