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Significant Organizations & Web Sites

There is no lack of information in searching the Internet for border resources. To begin your research, you might want to go to a site that links to virtually all the other sites on border legal environmental issues. For example:

New Mexico State University Library's Border and Latin American Information Archive
http://lib.nmsu.edu/subject/bord/
 
This site has a broad scope and has links to environmental, political, and business issues. Contains an excellent archive.


For more detailed information from various government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental interest groups, the following web sites should be of interest:

Bight of the Californias
http://argo.sandag.org/bight/
 
A group of Mexicans and Americans who look for answers on how to prevent land-based pollution from endangering the ocean waters, marine life and coastline of the Californias. Some represent various levels of government—federal, state and local—in Mexico and the United States. Others represent businesses, universities and non-governmental organizations on both sides of the border. They call themselves the Ad Hoc Committee for the Bight of the Californias. Their work began in 1997 and is being underwritten for the short term by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

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Border Environment Program: Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy
http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/programs/border/about.html
  Established in 1987, the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy sponsors policy-relevant, interdisciplinary research and forums that link scholarship and education with decision making. The Center’s U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Program is an active research and outreach program on environmental issues concerning the U.S.-Mexico border region. Via major funding-primarily from the Ford Foundation through a dozen projects since 1989-the Center has established a presence as a neutral, respected observer and commentator on border environmental policy.

Border Information & Solutions Network (BISN)
http://www.bisn.org/
  Dedicated to promoting sustainable development of the US/Mexico border by enhancing collaboration and communication through the Internet. BISN is a binational, regional NGO headquartered in Brownsville, Texas. Has interesting articles, conference materials and reports.

California-Baja California Border Environmental Program
A program of the California Environmental Protection Agency
http://bep.calepa.ca.gov/
  The mission of the California-Baja California Border Environmental Program is to work towards a better environment within our shared border by identifying and resolving unique environmental and natural resource challenges and the resulting public health issues. Includes annual needs assessments, strategic plans, and links to other helpful web sites.

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[North American] Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
http://www.cec.org/home/index.cfm?varlan=english
  The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Has a great Transboundary Agreement Infobase that gives Internet users free and unrestricted access to agreements and treaties on transboundary environmental cooperation in North America. The Infobase is part of the CEC's efforts to provide information that promotes North American cooperation on environmental issues that affect the entire region. Users can search the database by subject, agreement name, or by parties to the agreements. A complete list of agreements—there are approximately 200 individual agreements currently in the database—is also available for users to browse through. In addition, the database provides hyperlinks to the full text of the agreements, as well as to other Internet sites that provide additional information related to the agreements. Has a terrific Summary of Mexican Environmental Law.

Environmental Health Coalition
http://www.environmentalhealth.org/index1.html
  Environmental Health Coalition (according to there web site) is one of the oldest and most effective grassroots organizations in the United States, using social change strategies to achieve environmental justice. As one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, San Diego's toxics problems are myriad, often compounded by its location on the U.S./Mexico border. The EHC targets these problems with its Border Environmental Justice Campaign which includes efforts to clean up toxic spills and amend NAFTA to strengthen its environmental provisions.

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[United States] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov/
  The U.S. government’s main environmental agency, the EPA was assigned the daunting task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment and to establish new criteria to guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality. It provides leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and Indian tribes to develop and enforce regulations under existing environmental laws. Has a great link to the U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental Program http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/ and a page devoted to Mexico. The EPA’s La Paz Agreement and U.S.-Mexico Border Enforcement and Compliance Program between the United States and Mexico taking into account the resources that may be available to the parties. Its objectives: 1. Continue efforts to achieve compliance with environmental requirements in the border area through: Planning inspections on both sides of the border; Taking legal actions when violations are detected; and conducting follow-up to ensure future compliance.

Environmental Contacts in the US/Mexico Borderlands compiled by Ron Mader
http://www.txinfinet.com/mader/ecotravel/border/border.html
  This excellent site is meant to provide interested readers with an environmental Border Who's Who of government, NGO and academic leaders. Though contacts change frequently, it can be a useful start to your research. This page is part of the Borderlands Environmental Archives and includes sections on how to reach officials and NGOs in Mexico, the Sonoran Desert, the Chihuahua Desert, Baja, the Mexico travel services, and Mexico news sources. At the time of this writing, it also has a U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Bibliography compiled by Mader in 1998 that contains new works as they are published and some older works.

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The Environmental Justice Information Page
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrajzer/nre/index.html
  This site has been developed as a project for the School of Natural Resources and Environment class "Ecological Issues" at the University of Michigan. The purpose is to supply information to students and the general public about Environmental Justice and about some of the current topics. Has a great set of links to NGO, Government, Law School and Statutory sites.

HRSA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Health Page (BHP)
http://bphc.hrsa.gov/bphc/borderhealth/
  The BHP mission is to increase access to health care and improve the health status of people living in U.S. communities located within the U.S.-Mexico Border area through specific HRSA activities, improved agency coordination, and external partnership development. Among its many projects: The BHP developed an Interagency Agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide training to health center clinicians and promotoras related to pesticide exposures and to carry out border asthma surveillance and safe water projects.

Institute for Regional Studies of the California (IRSC)
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~irsc/irscdesc.htm
  The Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias (IRSC) provides San Diego State University with a forum for the investigation, discussion, and dissemination of information about the United States-Mexican border region. The Institute focuses on the border region of California and Baja California including transborder environmental issues. IRSC serves as the SDSU link to the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, a congressionally established consortium of Mexican and U.S. universities for research and policy studies on environmental issues of the border.

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Institute of the Americas, UCSD
http://www.iamericas.org/defaultIOA.html
  An academic think tank on Latin American and U.S. cooperation. Includes environmental issues. Must register and login, but it is free. Online users gain access to most publications online. To access all publications and additional features of the website, it costs money to become a member of the Institute.

International Boundary Water Commission
http://www.ibwc.state.gov/
  The Convention of 1889 creating the International Boundary Commission (IBC), and the 1944 Water Treaty which changed its name to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), both provide that it shall consist of a United States Section and a Mexican Section. The 1944 Treaty further provides that it shall in all respects have the status of an international body, that the head of each Section must be an Engineer Commissioner and that wherever Treaty provisions call for joint action or joint agreement by the two Governments such matters shall be handled by or through the Department of State of the United States and the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico. This site gives terrific access to the major treaties, agreements and other laws relating to transboundary water issues.

North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
http://naaee.org/
  A network of professionals and students throughout North America and in over 55 countries around the world promoting environmental education.

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North American Development Bank (NADBank)
http://www.nadbank.org/
Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC)
http://www.cocef.org/englishbecc.html
  The North American Development Bank (NADB) and its sister institution, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), were created under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NADB is an international financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects. All NADB-financed environmental projects must be certified by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), be related to potable water supply, wastewater treatment or municipal solid waste management and be located within the border region. In an effort to make projects affordable, especially for the smallest and poorest communities, the NADB established the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF). This fund is designed to receive and administer grants from other institutions that can be combined with loans and guaranties to facilitate project financing.

Planeta.com
http://www.planeta.com/
  Planeta.com is a clearinghouse for practical ecotourism around the globe. As a travel resource center, we host a variety of online forums and conferences and have published more than 10,000 pages of features and scholarly reports. Its Borderland links is very informative, listing U.S./Mexico and border states laws (including California), and NGOs.

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San Diego Dialogue
http://www.sandiegodialogue.org/index.html
  San Diego Dialogue is a San Diego-based think tank made up of business and government leaders best known for its work to plan a bi-national metropolitan region in the San Diego-Tijuana border region. Its Forum Fronterizo is a luncheon series designed to provide civic leaders with a place to examine major opportunities and challenges facing this cross-border region. Has research papers and links.

Secretaria de medio ambiente and recursos naturales (SEMARNAT)
http://www.semarnat.gob.mx/
  Mexico’s environmental agency, in Spanish.

The Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP)

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~irsc/scerp.htm
  SCERP is a consortium of five U.S. and five Mexican universities which serves U.S.-Mexican border residents by applying research information, insights and innovations to environmental challenges in the region. SCERP was created in 1989 to initiate a comprehensive analysis of possible solutions to air, water, natural resources and hazardous waste problems that plague the United States-Mexican border region. Includes San Diego State University. The SCERP web site contains many valuable reports and articles about steps taken to remedy environmental problems in the border region; ongoing studies and programs and projects.

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Transboundary Resource Inventory Program (TRIP)
http://www.bic.state.tx.us/trip/
  The shaded area highlights the Transboundary Resource Inventory Program's area of focus -- approximately 400,000 square miles of land and natural resources along the U.S.-Mexico border. TRIP is a regionally-based binational effort to have the shared natural resources of the United States-Mexico border region mapped, measured, and made available to interested information consumers. As a consortium of border institutions, TRIP facilitates efforts to inventory, collect, and share information regarding all sorts of environmental concerns. As the border region grows, transboundary data is needed to make informed decisions regarding renewable energy, transportation, public health, environmental protection, population study, agriculture, and economic development. Previously, little was known of our border environment as a single region of interconnected ecosystems and shared resources.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Dialogue Project
http://www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/border.htm
  The Border Dialogue of the Western Governors’ Association creates opportunities for U.S. and Mexican state and federal officials to work together on cross-boundary health, environmental, and natural resource issues of mutual concern. Recent topics for ten state action include the development of a policy on the next iteration of the U.S.-Mexico border plan for the environment and the future roles for the North American Development Bank (NAD Bank) and Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC).

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Last revised: 6/8/02

 

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