Join the Environment Ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States for a Discussion on Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Participate in-person or online in a town hall meeting on the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge with North America’s three highest-level environmental officials in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Montreal, 4 July 2014—On July 17th, join North America’s federal environmental ministers in person or online to discuss the importance and contribution of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to environmental decision making.
For centuries, indigenous communities throughout North America have relied upon sophisticated knowledge about their environment to support their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and medicines. This knowledge, amassed over time and handed down through generations, adds an important and distinct contribution to their understanding of environmental issues such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, wildlife migration, and sustainable land use.
This year, Canada’s Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq will host Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Juan José Guerra Abud and US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s (CEC) Twenty-first Regular Session of Council, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, to discuss their agenda for environmental cooperation in North America.
Prior to the Council Session, the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) will hold a public forum on July 16th, beginning at 9 a.m. MDT, to discuss transboundary natural resource management, with an emphasis on waters, climate, and the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This session will be interactive, broadcast live, and open to the public.
The Council Session will also highlight future CEC priorities and celebrate 20 years of environmental cooperation
Looking ahead, the Council will share key priorities for the CEC’s 2015–2020 strategic plan and will highlight successes and the impact of two decades of trinational environmental cooperation.
The live discussion and webcast with the Council members will start July 17th at 12:10 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT).
Find out more about these two events and register today to participate either in person or online. Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.org/CECconnect) and Twitter @CECweb, where you can get updates, ask questions, or share your comments and ideas.
Attendance at both the Council public session and JPAC meeting is open to the public and free of charge.
About the CEC
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations
The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.