Solutions and prevention through cooperation

Species Habitat and Protection

The CEC is creating tools for better-informed analysis and decisions affecting biodiversity of the region. Some of the specific work projects relating to the management of wildlife and marine habitats are:

• Cooperation in the conservation of North American birds
• Plant biodiversity inventory and information network for North American forest ecosystems
• Cooperation on the protection of marine and coastal area ecosystems

The CEC will continue to fine-tune the criteria required to identify persistent pollutants. A North American Pollutant Release Inventory is bringing together existing information. Other specific projects are:

• Sound management of chemicals
• North American air monitoring and modelling
• Transboundary environmental impact assessment

Cooperative actions to promote forest conservation and to boost investments in green technology. All projects support the development of national programs. Some of them are:

• Energy efficiency cooperation
• North American cooperation on climate change
• Climate change and its potential impact on transboundary water resources in North America

This term refers to one of the most essential tools for building regional environmental cooperation and awareness: access to accurate and timely information. Some projects under this area are:

• CEC database development
• North American integrated system for environmental management
• CEC resource center

In other areas, the CEC will seek to:

• Broaden cooperation on environmental law enforcement
• Measure the effects of NAFTA on the environment
• Support community-level environment projects (North American environmental fund)

The CEC Secretariat has sought to ensure that all CEC activities complement existing efforts by governmental, non-governmental, North American or international bodies. Institutions already working on priority North American environmental issues have helped identify where and in what ways the CEC could fill gaps or add value.

The CEC budget for 1996 is US$9 million, contributed in equal parts by the three member countries.

Copies of the 1996 Annual Program and Budget are available at the Secretariat.