| Montreal, 13/08/2007 – Engaging indigenous communities in North America to share and discuss their environmental priorities will be the focus of two public meetings and a network session to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 24–26 September 2007. Renewable energy and pollutants and health will be among the main topics to be discussed.
The meetings, hosted by the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), will take place over three days:
- Day 1: North American Indigenous Communities Renewable Energy Forum. Topics will include addressing energy costs and accessibility, energy project partnerships and financing, developing renewable energy projects and building energy capacity through information sharing.
- Day 2: North American Indigenous Communities, Pollutants and Health: Sharing Experiences, from Problem Identification to Resolution. This meeting will feature presentations about efforts in North American indigenous communities to address contaminants in their environment, as well as the CEC’s work under the Sound Management of Chemicals (SMOC) program and the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) project.
- Day 3: Success Stories, Networking “How-to” and Open Agenda Discussion. Following up on the discussions of the previous two days, Day 3 will feature a panel on networking and provide an open forum for participants to share their concerns and recommendations relating to a wide range of environmental issues.
The outcome of these meetings will support JPAC in its role of providing advice and recommendations to the CEC Council, which is composed of the environment ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States. JPAC’s third regular session for 2007 will take place at the end of the third day. The meetings will also help focus the CEC’s renewable energy, SMOC and PRTR projects toward the needs of indigenous communities.
Registration to all events is free-of-charge. Nonprofit organizations and individuals may request limited financial assistance to attend the events. A request to receive financial assistance can be made by pre-registering for the event before 29 August, and is limited to one person per organization.
More information about the meetings, including the registration form and the draft agenda, is available online.
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