| Montreal, 15/01/2001 – The Secretariat of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) has recommended to the NACEC Council that a factual record be developed in response to allegations that the United States is failing to enforce its Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) effectively.
The allegations were made in a citizen submission to NACEC (SEM-99-002) brought forward by the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), et al., in 1999. The submission asserts that the MBTA implements four international treaties, including agreements with Canada and Mexico, aimed at protecting migratory birds, and in Section 703 prohibits any person from killing or "taking" migratory birds "by any means or in any manner," unless the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) issues a valid permit.
The Submission alleges that "the United States deliberately refuses, however, to enforce this clear statutory prohibition as it relates to loggers, logging companies, and logging contractors. As a matter of internal policy, the United States has exempted logging operations from the MBTA's prohibitions without any legislation or regulation that authorizes such an exception."
The NACEC Secretariat informed the Council of its determination that a factual record is warranted on 15 December 2000 and is now, 30 days later, able to provide public notification of this fact, in accordance with Section 10.2 of the Guidelines for Submissions under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The rationale for this recommendation by the Secretariat will be available to the public once Council has made its decision on whether or not to instruct the Secretariat to prepare a factual record.
Under Article 14 of NAAEC, the Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. In accordance with Article 15(2) of NAAEC, the Secretariat shall prepare a factual record if the Council, by a two-thirds vote, instructs it to do so.
NACEC was established under NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The NACEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States. |
