The final guidelines and official name for the recently-created environment fund will soon be ready and available to the public. The CEC requested the public's advice before establishing these guidelines. Comments and suggestions concerning the draft guidelines, which were available for public review, have been taken into account in completing the final guidelines.

The fund, which will start with C$2 million, was created by the CEC Council of Ministers in recognition of the central role played by local organizations and NGOs in protecting the environment and promoting the appropriate use of natural resources.

At its meeting of October 13th 1995 in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Council instructed the Secretariat to assign funds with the objective of promoting environmental community-level projects in Canada, Mexico and the United States aimed at supporting sustainable development in the region.

A copy of the guidelines and the Request for Proposal will be sent to every individual or group on the Ecoregion Bulletin mailing list. These documents will also be available on the CEC's Home Page at http://www.cec.org