The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) has been chosen by the IABIN Executive Committee as the Executing Agency for the IABIN GEF project.

It is responsible for compliance with World Bank procurement and disbursement procedures. The OAS has considerable experience in executing World Bank implemented GEF projects, and through its Office for Sustainable Development and Environment (OSDE) will provide necessary support for procurement, legal, and financial management activities, and working closely with the IABIN Council, guarantee effective execution of project funds.

The OAS, in its coordinating role for Summit of the Americas follow-up, invited each country to designate an official IABIN Focal Point; to date, all 34 member States of the OAS have done so.

IABIN was considered officially launched when the OAS Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS) endorsed IABIN, in a resolution passed on October 15, 1999.

IABIN was also strongly supported in the Ministerial communiqué to the Heads of State and delegations attending the Summit of the Americas which led to the endorsement of IABIN in the April 2001 Quebec Presidential Summit Plan of Action.