The Environmental Law Institute® and officials from three Mexican municipalities met recently in Guadalajara, Mexico to launch a two-year project aimed at improving environmental performance at municipal facilities (ProMuS 2000). Over the next two years, the ELI team, which includes EMS experts from the Lexington Group in Boston, MA; Eco-Consulta in San Jose, Costa Rica; and Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico, will provide additional training through interactive web activities and on-site training. Corporate mentors located in each of the municipalities will also provide technical assistance to the municipalities.
From May 7-10, 2001 the three municipalities, Piedras Negras, Coahuila; Nogales, Sonora; and Zapotlán El Grande, Jalisco participated in a four- day ELI training course on the development and implementation of an environmental management system (or EMS) for their facilities. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Agency for International Development are co-sponsors of the project and attended the initial training course.
&ldquot;Mexico’s municipalities are on the front lines of the war against pollution, confronting complex environmental challenges every day. Building an effective environmental management system is a vital part of their strategy to protect the health and welfare of their communities,” said Susan Bass, an ELI Senior Attorney and head of the ProMus project.
In recent years, the voluntary use of EMSs has increased as public and private facilities seek to integrate environmental protection into their day-to-day operations. The goal of an EMS is to improve overall environmental performance and compliance. Implementing an EMS will help municipalities to control and minimize environmental risks, reduce operation costs, assure legal compliance, and open or improve channels of communication with the public.
“We were very pleased with the enthusiasm and receptivity to the concept of environmental management systems shown by the participants at the workshop in Guadalajara. This project is an important part of EPA’s overall effort to develop common sense solutions to environmental problems in partnership with our colleagues in Mexico. We look forward to working with the three municipalities and supporting their efforts for the remainder of the project,” said Jim Horne of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Representatives from the Mexican Federal Environmental organizations Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente and the Instituto Nacional de Ecología as well as a representatives from the Mexican Municipalities Association and the International Counties and Municipalities Association, Mexico also attended the four day meeting.
Parts of the project’s web page http://www.promusmex.net/principal.htm are accessible to the public and will be frequently updated as to the progress of the project.
For more information, contact Susan Bass at ELI, (202) 939-3809 or bass@eli.org.