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Published in Spring 2003
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Doing together what cannot be done alone
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As with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s (CEC) effort to eradicate the use of DDT in North America, our three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States, have put their skills, experience and determination together to end the production and use of chlordane—a toxic pesticide and probable carcinogen. And, as before, we can thank international cooperation for the removal of a dangerous chemical from our environment.
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Victor Shantora
CEC Acting Executive Director
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As reported in this edition of Trio, years of teamwork led by the CEC brought high-level public and government attention to the chlordane issue. Today, the substance is no longer registered for use in Canada, Mexico or the US, and is no longer manufactured in North America.
What’s more, our success has boosted global attention to this issue, with chlordane now included in the so-called “dirty dozen” persistent organic pollutants targeted by the Stockholm Convention. While other countries are only now turning their attention to these pollutants, North America is well into specific action to reduce or eliminate these threats.
The action plan to eliminate chlordane use in North America—negotiated by our three countries through the CEC—is just the latest example how the Commission helps accomplish together what we cannot accomplish alone.
Because the collective problem is greater than local pollution, collective action is the only solution. Once released, DDT, mercury, and lindane, for example, persist in our environment, migrating thousands of kilometers from their sources of emission, with accumulation in the Arctic causing a particular problem.
This cooperative, continental approach is built into our Sound Management of Chemicals program. SMOC, as it is known, was one of the earliest priorities expressed by the Council of the CEC. To date, the Secretariat and our three countries have initiated North American Regional Action Plans targeting four persistent and toxic chemicals: chlordane, DDT, PCBs and mercury. A plan to reduce our exposure to dioxins and furans is near completion. Lindane is our next target, and lead is under evaluation for this plan of attack.
Each plan builds on the proven success of mobilizing high-level, international cooperation to reduce or eliminate these threats to environmental health. Each includes a commitment to work cooperatively and build upon international environmental agreements, existing policies and laws. They also bring a regional perspective, including a public voice, to other international initiatives that are in place or being negotiated on persistent toxic substances.
True, each of our countries continues to make individual progress towards sustainable development, and away from environmentally harmful practices; but in North America there is no boundary to our shared environment—hence the vital role for regional cooperation to protect our environment.
Elsewhere in this edition of Trio is another example of how the CEC is a catalyst for cross-border cooperation to protect our environment. As documented in our annual report on North American pollutant releases and transfers, Taking Stock, our countries have made impressive progress in reducing the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. This success, unfortunately has also spawned a black market in substances like banned automobile refrigerants. Looking at this problem from a continental perspective, the CEC is supporting cooperation between Mexican and US officials to stop this illegal trade across the region.
Whether it’s the elimination of toxic pollutants, stopping the traffic of ozone-depleting substances, or blocking the pathways of invasive species, international cooperation is a necessary ingredient and one that, as our name suggests, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation is designed to provide.
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