CEC Council Meets Sunday

Montreal, 25 June 1999 — This year’s meeting of the Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) convenes in Banff on Sunday evening, 27 June. The Montreal-based CEC was set up as part of the environmental side accord to NAFTA to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The Council, the CEC’s governing body, is composed of the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States—the Parties of the North American Free Trade Agreement—and meets at least once a year.

For this session, Canadian Minister of Environment, Christine Stewart, hosts her counterparts Carol M. Browner, Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and Julia Carabias, Mexico’s Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries.

Among issues under consideration by the Council this year are options and next steps pertaining to the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, the Upper San Pedro River Initiative and the Sound Management of Chemicals. Background information on each of these subjects is attached. Additional information may be obtained through Corrie Castelló (see contact info below) who can put you in touch with their respective experts.

This is the sixth session of the Council since the creation of the CEC in 1994. It takes place at the Rimrock Hotel, Mountain Avenue, Banff, Alberta. The official opening is on Sunday, 27 June at 7:00 pm. Meetings continue through Monday with a round table on CEC program initiatives, in conjunction with a regular session of the Joint Public Advisory Committee, and a public session. A wrap-up press briefing is scheduled for 2:45 pm (Mountain Time).

Journalists unable to attend may participate via telephone conference by dialing (416) 406-6493 and then the code number 225533#. Anyone intending to use this option should confirm with Corrie Castelló as soon as possible at the contact info below.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the so-called environmental side-accord to NAFTA. From its Montreal offices, the CEC facilitates cooperative efforts among its three members, Canada, Mexico and the United States, in addressing North American environmental concerns, preventing potential trade and environmental conflicts and promoting the effective enforcement of environmental law.

The CEC’s program and activities are set by the Council of the CEC, the organization’s governing body. The Council is composed of the environment ministers of its three member countries and meets at least once a year. Advice on matters within the scope of the NAAEC, and a window on public concerns, is provided to the Council by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC). Five of JPAC’s fifteen members are appointed by the government of each of the three member countries.

The work of the CEC is organized around four core program areas:

Environment, economy and trade
conservation of biodiversity
pollutants and health,
law and policy

The North American Fund for Environmental Cooperation (NAFEC) was created to support the work of non-profit, nongovernmental organizations in community-based environmental projects that help to advance the goals of the CEC program.

Under the NAAEC, members of the public may bring to the attention of the CEC secretariat allegations of failure on the part of any NAAEC Party to enforce its environmental laws.

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) is an effort by more than 100 leading conservationists from a diverse range of public and private organizations, agencies and groups to coordinate actions across borders to ensure the long-term survival of all birds and their habitats across the continent. The CEC has played an important role in NABCI, catalyzing the establishment of this initiative, and will continue to help coordinate actions under it.

Twenty percent of the world’s birds inhabit North America. They are a key element of every ecosystem and habitat on the continent. They perform vital ecological functions such as pollination, seed dispersal and consumption of plant-eating insects, and serve as critical links in the food chain. Birds are a major natural economic resource of profound relevance to sectors such as agriculture and forestry, and contribute to new opportunities for socioeconomic development.

For more than a century, environmental degradation has taken its toll on the birds of North America. Changes in land use, fragmentation of habitat, commercial hunting and the buildup of pesticides are among numerous threats to North American bird populations. The consequences are startling:

42 species of bird are endangered, threatened or vulnerable in Canada (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), 90 species of birds are endangered or threatened in the United States (US Fish and Wildlife Service), 178 bird species are in danger or threatened in Mexico (Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries of Mexico).

Unless these threats to North American bird populations are addressed, the very nature of the ecosystem will change, and subsequently, the incalculable economic value that accrues from the ecological functions of birds will be in jeopardy. On the other hand, success in the restoration, management and maintenance of healthy bird populations and their habitats will mean success in maintaining a healthy environment for most creatures, including humans.

It is clear that no single entity could tackle successfully the challenges of bird conservation in North America. Although efforts for the protection of birds and their habitats are being carried out in each of the three countries, significant gaps persist and many bird populations continue to decline. Recognition by each player of their own limitations, relative to the overall challenge, led to the creation of NABCI, a means of engaging in conservation partnerships with the potential for results greater than the sum of individual efforts.

NABCI is an agreement among organizations and agencies to:

increase the effectiveness of existing and new initiatives,
enhance coordination,
foster greater cooperation among the nations and peoples of the continent, and build on such existing structures as joint ventures and the Important Bird Area (IBA) Program, and stimulate new structure and mechanisms.

NABCI’s goal is to improve the conservation of birds and their habitats in North America. To do this, it seeks to achieve regionally based, biologically driven, landscape-oriented partnerships delivering the full spectrum of bird conservation across the entire continent. It supports simultaneous, on-the-ground delivery of conservation for all birds. NABCI facilitates the conservation of all native North American birds by increasing the effectiveness of programs and initiatives, both existing and new, and enhancing coordination and fostering greater cooperation among the nations and peoples of the continent.

The Upper San Pedro River Initiative is an effort by the CEC to preserve the outstanding ecological features of this transboundary watershed—an important corridor for millions of migratory birds. Since 1996, the CEC has played a key role in drawing attention to this rare ecosystem, first in highlighting the site as an Important Bird Area and, in 1997, by launching a process involving an expert study of the area, public consultation and the development of policy recommendations for appropriate conservation and sustainable development initiatives.

Economic and ecological values converge dramatically along the upper San Pedro River. Originating in Sonora, Mexico, the San Pedro River runs north into Arizona where the river, and the aquifer that supplies it, nourish a diverse and growing community of ranchers, farmers, urban dwellers and military base residents. The San Pedro watershed is also home to perhaps the largest surviving expanse of southwestern broadleaf riparian forest and, in Mexico, native grasslands, serving as an important corridor for millions of migratory birds that winter in Mexico and breed during the summer months in the United States and Canada.

Over the past several years, there has been growing concern that this valued ecosystem, and the hydrological system that supports it, may be on an unsustainable course. The prospect of water scarcity looms large for communities living along the shared watersheds of the Mexican and United States border region. In addition to providing sustenance for a broad range of economic and human activities, water is vital for the ecological processes that, in turn, support a healthy economy and environment.

In 1996, the Council of the CEC highlighted the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area as an Important Bird Area, supporting efforts of the CEC to implement the project Cooperation in the Conservation of North American Birds. Federal, state and local governments have promoted a number of initiatives to preserve the unique and fragile San Pedro riverine ecosystem.

In 1997, the CEC launched the San Pedro River Initiative to catalyze and call attention to efforts to enhance and preserve the outstanding ecological features of the binational upper San Pedro River. The Initiative was launched under Article 13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which enables the Secretariat to prepare reports for Council on any matter within the scope of the CEC’s annual work program.

The Initiative involves three phases. First, a team of six experts was charged with conducting a study that characterizes the physical and biological conditions required to sustain and enhance the riparian migratory bird habitat on the upper San Pedro River, and to describe appropriate conservation and sustainable development responses, including binational cooperation. Second, a sixty-day public input period, following the release of the expert study, provided for the submission by interested parties of comments and opinions relevant to the issues presented in the expert study. Third, the Secretariat convened a panel for the development of policy recommendations in light of the experts’ findings and the public comments. A final report, comprising the results of these three phases, has been assembled by the Secretariat for consideration and possible publication by Council.

Certain persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative chemicals released into the environment as a result of human activity pose serious risks to the environment, ecosystems, human health and to sustainable development. Canada, Mexico and the United States are actively involved in global processes for the sound management of chemicals and, through the CEC, are working cooperatively in the development of regional action plans to reduce or eliminate the releases of such substances to the North American environment.

In the spirit of cooperation on trilateral environmental issues of concern, at its second regular meeting, the Council adopted Resolution 95-05 for the Sound Management of Chemicals to give priority to the management and control of substances of mutual concern in the environment that are persistent and toxic. In order to achieve the required degree of broad-based cooperation necessary for this task, the resolution created the North American Working Group for the Sound Management of Chemicals (hereafter: SMOC Working Group) to work with the CEC in implementing decisions and commitments pertaining to these substances. The SMOC Working Group interprets Resolution 95-05 as a unique opportunity to implement global initiatives for the sound management of chemicals in the North American region, including Agenda 21, Chapter 19 from the Rio Summit and, more recently, the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety.

To date, North American Regional Action Plans (NARAPs) have been developed for PCBs, DDT, chlordane, and mercury and the provisions of those NARAPs are now being implemented. These plans include policies and commitments for controlling the production and use of the chemicals. In addition, a formal process for identifying candidate substances for regional action under the Sound Management of Chemicals initiative was developed and approved. In this process, candidate substances are nominated by one or more of the Parties and evaluated. A Substance Selection Task Force oversees the evaluation process through the nomination, screening, and evaluation and decision stages.

Dioxins and furans and hexachlorobenzene are organic pollutants that are toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative and capable of being transported long distances through atmospheric and aquatic pathways. Under the Sound Management of Chemicals process described above, these chemicals—as well as the pesticide, lindane, and the heavy metal, lead—have been nominated for review by the Substance Selection Task Force. The Working Group has approved, for public review and comment, the Stage III decision documents for dioxins and furans and for hexachlorobenzene (the review period is to conclude on 31 August 1999). Under consideration by the Council of the CEC is the question of the development of NARAPs for these substances.

Even in the limited time the Sound Management of Chemicals program has been in effect, it has already achieved some important results. Chlordane is no longer used or produced in North America. Mexico succeeded in phasing out the use of this dangerous pesticide and the only remaining chlordane-producing facility in the United States voluntarily agreed to cease producing the chemical. Also, Mexico has reduced its use of DDT by 48 percent since 1996, making excellent progress towards the goal of an 80 percent reduction in five years, as established in the DDT NARAP.

In the development of phase II of the mercury NARAP, the Working Group put in place a broad program of stakeholder and expert consultation with the aim of achieving a comprehensive control plan. Public consultations are being held on the draft NARAP in the summer of 1999. Phase 2 of this NARAP, to be completed by December 1999, will include additional specific actions and timetables. The PCB NARAP succeeded in generating significant national concern as to the management and control of these substances. However, a recent judicial decision prohibiting the import of PCBs into the United States for destruction has limited this aspect of the NARAP on PCBs.