In other words, what ECLAC has been calling "structural change" requires finding synergies, without delay, between productivity gains and the green economy at the local and global levels (ECLAC 2012b). This must include protecting critical ecosystems and environmental services that promote quality health, food security and other basic requirements for human security and for the wellbeing of people and communities. However, it faces mounting pressures derived from old patterns of production and territorial occupation, which have been magnified by the prevailing development model, despite specific strategies and policies that have helped to offset some processes of degradation and to implant systems and technologies to mitigate environmental impacts.