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