Remarks by the Executive Director at the Official Opening of the 1999 Regular Session of the Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Council meetings provide an opportunity for us to reflect on what the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has accomplished and what challenges lie ahead that may require the CEC's attention. It is my pleasure to give you an update on the recent progress made by the CEC.

We have made good headway in implementing Council's vision statement, A Shared Agenda for Action, which the Ministers adopted at last year's Council meeting in Merida, Mexico. The CEC is operating under a three-year program plan, the North American Agenda for Action 1999–2001. The plan reflects the CEC's strategic approach toward the twin goals of pursuing "environmental sustainability in open markets and stewardship of the North American environment." Comments and recommendations received from the public during the last Council Session in Mérida were taken into account and incorporated in the work program for 1999–2001. Having a multi-year plan has enabled us to plan better and to achieve concrete results. It is an evolving plan that requires the annual review by government and organizations in civil society so that the work program retains its sharp focus and is able to address emerging issues. The CEC Secretariat will be working on a proposed work program for 2000–2002 over the summer for Council to consider later on this autumn. The Secretariat will be paying close attention to the advice provided to Council by the public and members of the Joint Public Advisory Council (JPAC) over the next two days.

Thanks to the leadership of Council, the valuable insight of JPAC, the important contributions of the national and governmental advisory committees, and the enthusiasm and ability of those who have worked with the CEC, including government officials, citizen groups, the private sector, and the research and academic community, many of the CEC's efforts to promote environmental protection in the region are bearing fruit. As you can see below, working together we have been able to achieve important results.

In the program area of Environment, Economy and Trade, the CEC has improved the analytical tools available to the public and governments by developing a methodology to evaluate the environmental impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In support of Council's mandate to consider such effects on an ongoing basis, the CEC developed and applied an analytical approach, considering specifically maize, electricity, and cattle feedlots in a major report. The analytical framework has now also been revised and is now being made available to the public. The CEC also made advancements in looking at trade in green goods and services as a means to achieve environmental conservation objectives by launching an initiative that evaluates the market for shade-grown coffee, in addition to considering common criteria for the product.

To advance the conservation of biological diversity, the CEC worked with conservation organizations in identifying a network of recognized important bird areas (IBAs), habitats that are key for maintaining healthy populations of migratory songbirds and endemic species. The CEC also has facilitated an unprecedented effort by over one hundred leading conservationists from diverse public agencies and private organizations, coordinating actions across borders to ensure the long-term survival of all birds and their habitats in North America.

We have reached important milestones in the North American pollution and health agenda. The Parties have achieved the objectives of the North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on chlordane. North America is now a chlordane-free zone. Mexico succeeded in phasing out the use of chlordane, and the only remaining chlordane producing facility in the United States voluntarily agreed to cease producing the chemical. Also, Mexico has reduced DDT use by one-half since 1996, making excellent progress toward the NARAP goal of an 80 percent reduction in five years. The mercury NARAP is moving quickly to its phase 2 stage, which will provide a comprehensive strategy to eliminate releases of that toxic heavy metal. And at this session, Council will be considering the development of NARAPs on the persistent, toxic chemicals, dioxins and furans, and hexachlorobenzene.

Through the annual production of the CEC's Taking Stock report, it is now possible for decision makers and the public to have a North America-wide perspective on pollutant releases and transfers. With the third Taking Stock report coming out in July, members of the public and policy makers will be able to develop an understanding of trends in pollutant releases and transfers and sources through 1996, the most recent year for which data are publicly available.

The Law and Policy program has laid out the groundwork for developing indicators of effective environmental enforcement. As well, the enforcement officials have made advances in clarifying the role environmental management systems can play in relation to government programs to enforce, verify and promote compliance with environmental laws

In September 1998, the Secretariat established a unit devoted to Submissions on Enforcement Matters (SEM) in order to strengthen its handling of citizen submissions under Articles 14 and 15 of the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation. Under these articles, citizens are allowed to file submissions alleging that one of the three Parties is failing in the effective enforcement of its environmental laws. A total of 20 submissions have been filed to date. Eleven are currently pending.

Under Article 13 of the Agreement, the Secretariat completed its report to Council on the upper San Pedro River in Sonora and Arizona. The process undertaken to involve local stakeholders has catalyzed actions to help conserve one of North America's most important migratory bird corridors on this vital stretch of river shared by Mexico and the United States.

It is quite clear that the complexities of some of the environmental challenges we face can not be adequately addressed by any one country or any one sector of society. Working in partnership with the three North American countries and with the involvement of both public and private organizations, we can succeed in addressing some of these challenges.

Below is a brief description of progress made in implementing Council's A Shared Agenda for Action and some of the results that have been achieved in pursuing environmental sustainability in open markets and promoting stewardship of the North American environment.

Environment, Economy and Trade

One of the most important contributions of the CEC has been the development of a methodology for analyzing the effects of NAFTA on the environment. In support of Council's mandate to consider on an ongoing basis the environmental effects of NAFTA, the CEC has developed an analytical approach and applied it in specific issues studies: maize, electricity, and cattle feedlots. The development of the methodology and its application in the case studies suggest that whether the positive effects of adjusted trade patterns are optimized, or negative impacts mitigated, will largely depend on a timely identification of these impacts, and a country's access to appropriate technical as well as policy responses.

This methodology represents a significant contribution to better understanding of the linkages between trade and the environment. The resulting Final Analytic Framework for Assessing the Environmental Effects of NAFTA can be used as a model by others for examining the environmental linkages to other trade agreements, such as the proposed new round under the WTO. The North American symposium on research related to NAFTA and the environment, to be sponsored by the CEC, will serve to further test the methodology and lead to improvements in its development and application, in addition to suggesting promising future areas of study.

The shade coffee initiative is the CEC's first effort at into examining trade in green goods and services. A main objective of the CEC's work in this area is to ensure environmental protection and sustainability in "win-win" environmental linkages. Recent work by the CEC has evaluated potential market demand for shade-grown coffee in North America. It discovered a "very strong interest" among 20 percent of consumers in linking their purchase of coffee with environmental protection. The CEC study, the most comprehensive publicly-available market study to date on shade coffee, clearly suggests that Mexico—the world's largest producer of organic coffee and among the largest producers of the expanding, billion-dollar shade-grown coffee market worldwide—is well positioned to strengthen its already impressive market share and profit from the clear links between shade-coffee and environmental protection. Other projects launched by the CEC, related to assessing "win-win" links, include ecotourism, and trade in wildlife species.

Conservation of Biodiversity

The project on Conservation of North American Birds has resulted in two major outcomes. The first is the identification of important bird areas (IBAs), which are habitats crucial for North America's populations of birds, including migratory species. This provides an important information base for decision makers, wildlife managers, and conservation groups as they set conservation priorities to help ensure a viable network of habitats for birds across North America. The IBAs are described in the Directory of North American Important Bird Areas, published by the CEC.

A second outcome is the establishment of a North American partnership of over 250 federal, state, provincial, and nongovernmental organizations united by a common set of objectives and an action plan for the conservation of birds. The North American Bird Conservation Initiative established a continental infrastructure for cooperation, while at the same time providing a framework for local, "on-the-ground" efforts. This partnership is based on a common agenda for more effective conservation of migratory and endemic bird species. This marks a significant step forward in providing coordinated conservation for species such as songbirds, raptors, and many of Mexico's endemic species, which did not previously benefit from North American cooperative efforts.

The North American Biodiversity Information Network (NABIN) project constitutes a major breakthrough in establishing a network of collectors and users of biodiversity data in North America. Through this project, eleven of North America's most important information centers have adopted a common protocol in data classification and format that will allow them to make their information on biodiversity available via the Internet. For example, over 500,000 records on avian taxonomy, conservation status, and species' habitat range can be now accessed as a result of this project. The number of participating institutions is expected to double within the next month. The basic design of a North America-wide information network is complete, allowing other information access to be included such as invasive species. NABIN is considered a successful model for bringing together biodiversity information and is now being considered as a model for use in a hemispheric program to establish an inter-American biodiversity information network.

Through the establishment of two projects—one in the Gulf of Maine, shared by the United States and Canada, and another in the Bight of the Californias, a region shared by Mexico and the United States—the CEC has helped implement the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities in North America. Local partnerships of federal, state and local agencies, citizens' groups, the private sector, universities, and indigenous peoples' organizations have planned and are actively implementing concrete actions to restore and manage coastal habitats and reduce pollutants of regional importance. The experience gained through this work could provide models for further implementation of the GPA in North America and worldwide. Concrete actions taken to protect and enhance the marine environment include, for example, the restoration of salt marsh in the Gulf of Maine, the development of education materials on the protection of the marine environment from sources of pollution, and the first binational monitoring of contaminants in the Bight of the Californias.

Pollutants and Health

The Sound Management of Chemicals (SMOC) program has established a strong foundation for joint North American action to phase out or reduce specific substances of concern. North American Regional Action Plans (NARAPs) on DDT, chlordane, PCBs and mercury have been developed and are being implemented. Significant progress is being made. For example, chlordane is no longer used or produced in North America. Mexico has phased out its use entirely, and the only remaining chlordane production facility in North America voluntarily agreed to cease producing the chemical. As well, Mexico is well on its way to meeting its targets of an 80 percent reduction in DDT use by 2001 and its complete phase-out by 2006. Mexico has reduced the use of DDT by 48 percent since the DDT NARAP was approved in 1996. Through the development of a substance selection process, a North American consensus has been established on criteria for identifying candidate substances for regional action. The Substance Selection Task Force has recommended that NARAPs for dioxins and furans and for hexachlorobenzene be developed and recommendations will soon be made by the task force as to what regional actions, if any, are to be taken with respect to lead and lindane. These criteria are now being considered by other governments for possible adoption and inclusion in a global agreement on persistent organic pollutants.

The North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Program has led to greater cooperation and understanding among governments, the nongovernmental community, and companies in the three countries in the development of PRTR programs, and has been an effective means of empowering citizens with comparative PRTR data. Development of the CEC's Taking Stock report has featured extensive feedback from the governments, industry, and environmental groups, as well as full cooperation on information sharing. The report provides the most comprehensive comparison now possible of pollutant releases and transfers in North America. Previously, country and subnational reports provided a narrower glimpse of contaminant sources and amounts. The Taking Stock report has put the pieces together to give a North American perspective. This has been invaluable in providing the public with information to help put releases and transfers of chemicals in a North American context. It also allows trends in toxic contaminants to be evaluated on an annual basis across North America. Along with company goals, government regulations and community interest, the Taking Stock report has been noted by companies in their decisions to reduce emissions of toxic contaminants.

The CEC work in capacity building for pollution prevention has resulted in a number of important advancements in this area in Mexico. Owing to a contribution of US$275,000 from Funtec, an association of Mexican industries, and a matching contribution from the CEC, a revolving fund for Mexican small and medium-sized enterprises is now operational. The fund has provided over US$91,000 in low-interest loans to four small and medium-size enterprises in the tannery sector. In addition, ten companies have completed pollution prevention audits and have begun to incorporate clean technologies and practices in their operation. In order to secure the progress made through this project and expand the adoption of pollution prevention technologies, the CEC is seeking to establish links with pollution prevention roundtable initiative of the Summit of the Americas.

Law and Policy

The Enforcement Working Group has made advances in clarifying the role environmental management systems can play in relation to government programs to enforce, verify and promote compliance with environmental laws and regulations with a report adopted by Council in 1998. The CEC has also been making headway on the difficult issue of assessing effective enforcement. Proceedings from the first North American dialogue devoted exclusively to indicators of effective environmental enforcement have laid the groundwork for ongoing initiatives to develop common indicators in this area.