CASE STUDY

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Integrated Approaches to Health and
Environment Building New Policies
CASE STUDY North American Commission for
Environmental Cooperation Sound
Management of Chemicals
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One Continent.One Environment.Three Countries.
Multiple Ecosystems.
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• In North America
• 430 million people
• Share 15 major ecosystems
• Transboundary flow of air, water, species
• continental
• global
• Open economy
• 11 trillion goods/services
• NAFTA doubled trade since 1993

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North American Agreement on Environmental
Cooperation (NAAEC)

• Canada, Mexico, United States
• parallel agreement to Free Trade Agreement
• both signed simultaneously in 1994
• Commission for Environmental Cooperation
• created to better protect our shared environment
• trinational response to trade versus
  environment
• equal funding from all 3 Parties (US3M each)

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CEC Mission

• Cooperation, public participation to foster
  conservation, protection, and enhancement of the
  environment

in the context of increasing economic and
trade links
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Functional Structure of CEC
Council of Ministers Mexico, Canada, USA
Joint Public Advisory Committee
CEC Secretariat
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Council of Ministers RESOLUTION 95-05 Sound
Management of Chemicals

• Regional cooperation- full range of chemical
  substances of mutual concern
• Priority to management and control of persistent
  and toxic substances
• Decisions by consensus

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The Sound Management of Chemicals Initiative

• Protect human health and the environment by
  reducing release of toxic substances into
  the North American environment
• Council Resolution 95-05, enables continental
  action on chemicals of mutual concern through
  trilateral Task Forces
• Linked to global initiatives
• Chapter 19 of Agenda 21
• Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
  Pollutants.

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Considerations by Task Forces
Monitoring for impact/results Health and
Environment Assessment of actions Guidelines/Regu
lation Technology development Capacity
Building Management Strategies Policies
Full Participation Senior Government
Expert Health and Environment Academia
Environmental Groups Indigenous Peoples
Industry Representatives
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Status of Program Implementation

• North American Regional Action Plans (NARAPs)
• En español Planes de acción regional de América
  del Norte (PARANs)
• PCBs (1996)
• environmentally sound life-cycle management
• objective of virtual elimination
• DDT (1997)
• total elimination of use in Mexico 2000,
• target of 80 reduction by 2002.
• support from IDRC and GEF for Central America

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Status of Program Implementation

• North American Regional Action Plans (NARAPs)
• Chlordane (1997)
• no longer registered for use or used
• Mercury (Phase 1, 1997 Phase 2, 2000)
• 50 reduction in national emissions by 2006

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Status of Program NARAP Development

• Dioxins, Furans, Hexachlorobenzene (1st Phase
  2004)
• Plan de Acción Regional de América del Norte
  sobre Dioxinas y Furanos, y Hexaclorobenceno
• Lindane and other HCH isomers (2005)
• Plan de Acción Regional de América del Norte
  sobre el lindano
• Lead (2004)

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Working on a Multi-country Level

• Consensus for actions developed at the table
• National positions brought to negotiating table,
• Consensus development onerous
• Multilateral agreements dependent on domestic
  flexibility
• Lowest common denominator is not acceptable
• Leveling the playing field through capacity
  building
• Uniformity of scientific assessment, analysis and
  comparisons
• Enhancing capacity to enforce the actions within
  the plan

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Reflections on the Challenges and Obstacles

• Three different constitutional arrangements
• Confederation with parliamentary democracy
• Developing federal republic
• Constitution-based federal republic
• Acceptance of national scientific programs and
  data
• Each country has its own group of experts
• Differing standards for accredited analytical
  laboratories
• Capacity of the public and regulators
• To assimilate evidence of risk
• To redirect national policy to enhance
  environmental priorities

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Lessons Learned

• Link Environmental Sustainability to Economic
  Development i.e. Sustainable Development
• Action Plan fatigue is a barrier to progress
• Communicate fully with stakeholders
• Peer pressure has value
• Efficiencies in grouping chemicals of concern?
• Muchas gracias