U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Program Projects and Events

Evaluation of Water Works Program
In the fall of 1998, the Udall Center began an evaluation of The Pew Charitable Trusts WaterWorks program in Texas and New Mexico. The $3.5-million WaterWorks program aims to remedy water-related threats to the environment and public health in colonias (unplanned communities) in the U.S.-Mexico border region. WaterWorks hopes to promote the well-being of low-income colonia residents through the development of low-cost, self-help water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. The Center assessed the performance of and prospects for the continuation of the Water Works program.

Ford Foundation-sponsored Border Environmental Policy Symposia
Together with the Transboundary Resources Center at the University of New Mexico College of Law and the University of California at Irvine, the Udall Center continues a series of workshops that began in 1991. The workshops bring together scholars, academics, members of NGOs, governmental officials, foundation representatives, and members of the press. The series aims to facilitate information exchanges and present potential solutions to border environmental problems.

BECCnet and CECnet
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
CECnet, a listserv for online discussions about the CEC

Border Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC)
BECCnet, a listserv for online discussions about the BECC

The Udall Center manages listservs that provide information on activities and news related to the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). BECC was established in November 1993 as the result of an agreement signed between Mexico and the United States to assist communities on both sides of the border with environmental infrastructure projects and to help identify projects for North American Development Bank financing. CEC, a tri-national organization including Canada, Mexico and the United States, was created under the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and promote the effective enforcement of environmental law.

Ford Foundation/Udall Center Fellowship in Environmental Conflict Resolution on the U.S.- Mexico Border
In 1998, with funding from the Ford Foundation, the Udall Center added to its existing Fellows Program a fellow-in-residence program related specifically to environmental conflict resolution in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The selected fellow works at the Center during his/her term, receives a stipend of U.S.$23,000, a private office, and a half-time graduate assistant. The fellow participates in the Center's ECR program, teaches a graduate-level seminar, presents informal community lectures, and prepares manuscripts for publication.

Annual Meeting on the Border Environment/Encuentro Anual Sobre el Medio Ambiente Fronterizo
The Encuentros are organized by the Latin American Area Center at The University of Arizona and funded by the Ford and Mott Foundations. The annual meeting is designed to provide a forum for nongovernmental and community-based organizations (NGOs and CBOs) working to protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The Udall Center supports these annual meetings by organizing special panel sessions and assisting with the conference. The first Annual Meeting on the Border Environment was held in March 1998 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The second meeting was held in April 1999 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Binational Water Management Project
Carried out from 1989 to 1993, this project examined binational water management in Ambos Nogales. Supported by the Ford Foundation, the project resulted in a book, Divided Waters (1995) and numerous other publications related to water issues along the border.

Environmental Sustainability Program
In January of 1996, the Udall Center organized a program on environmental sustainability for the directors, managers, and staff of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). The program was funded by the Mott Foundation.

Transboundary Resource Inventory Program (TRIP)
The Udall Center has collaborated with other organizations in the formation of the Transboundary Resource Inventory Program, a consortium aimed at bringing together organizations and individuals that collect and use transboundary information. Dr. Robert Varady, deputy director of the Udall Center, is a member of the board of directors of TRIP.

U.S.-Mexico Environmental Border Health Conference
In 1996, with support from the Morris K. Udall Foundation, the Center sponsored a conference on U.S.-Mexico environmental border health that drew approximately 200 people from diverse organizations on both sides of the border.