DOI US-MX Border FCC Organization links

This list of organizations has been complied by Team 15 of the 2007 USDA Graduate School Executive Leadership Program for the Arizona Borderland Management Task Force (BTMF). This project aims to facilitate cooperative efforts and coordination among federal agencies and organizations with interest in the United States – Mexico border, providing for improved border security and protecting human safety and natural and cultural resources. This project was constrained to organizations working within the states of Arizona or Sonora. Much care has been taken to assure the accuracy of this resource, although some errors and omissions may have occurred.

Members of Team 15 include:

Charles Bell DOD/Navy		Misuk Choun DOD/Navy
charles.k.bell@navy.mil		misuk.choun@navy.mil

Marlon Coleman USDA/Agricultural Research Service		Sharron Fletcher DOJ/ Office of Justice Programs
Marlon.Coleman@ars.usda.gov		Sharron.Fletcher@usdoj.gov

Jaime Martinez USDA/Farm Service Agency		Melissa Shafiqullah USDA/Forest Service
jaime.martinez@kcc.usda.gov		mshafiqullah@fs.fed.us

Aresia Williams EPA/Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
Williams.Aresia@epamail.epa.gov

Executive Leadership Program:

Center for Leadership and Management, Graduate School, USDA
600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 330, Washington, DC 20024-2520

Phone: (202) 314-3580, Fax: (202) 479-6813 or (202) 479-6814, E-mail: elp@grad.usda.gov

Sharon Barcellos: 202 314-3464		Kimberly Robinson: 202 314-3581
sharon_barcellos@grad.usda.gov		kimberly_robinson@grad.usda.gov

Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) TC "Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC)"

http://www.azmc.org/

The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) is Arizona’s premiere cross-border nonprofit organization. Our mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for residents of Arizona by promoting a strong, cooperative relationship with Mexico and Latin America through advocacy, trade, networking and information. The AMC's mission is to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for the residents of Arizona through a strong cooperative relationship with Mexico and Latin America through advocacy, trade, networking and information.

The AMC has 13 binational committees that act as industry and community advocates in partnership with the Comisión Sonora-Arizona (from Sonora, Mexico) to facilitate cross-border trade, business and community networking and binational information sharing. Through our work, and support of the Governor’s policy priorities, Arizona and the U.S. economy benefit from enhanced binational trade and an open relationship with Sonora’s public and private sectors.

AMC promotes a strong, cooperative relationship with Mexico; facilitate the movement of goods, services, people and information through Mexico and Latin America; and encourage security and sustainable development within our border communities.

Commission membership consists of several hundred public and private sector leaders from throughout Arizona, including state agency directors, corporate executives, small business owners, healthcare and education professionals, lawyers, entrepreneurs, real estate and travel agents, brokers, artists, researchers, bankers, accountants, legislators and other professionals from all aspects of business and public service.

By serving on a committee of choice, members exercise their common desire to contribute to the exchange of ideas and information through cross-border communication and collaboration. Working in coordination with their Sonora-Arizona Commission counterparts, members enjoy the benefits of networking, participating in the facilitation of bilateral initiatives and contributing to the incubation of cross-border projects at the biannual Plenary Session, held each summer in Arizona and each fall in Sonora.

Border Eco Web (BEW) TC "Border Eco Web (BEW)"

http://www.borderecoweb.sdsu.edu/

This project was meant to develop an arena where community members can find out what other people and groups are doing to understand and resolve border environmental problems. It intends to provide access to the agencies and people working on the solutions. It will serves as a roadmap of how to find basic environmental data for the transborder region.

The initial phase of this project was be conducted at San Diego State University and funded through a cooperative agreement with EPA. This phase first concentrated on the project system design and acquisition and inclusion of federal-level information for the Inventory and Directory. Then, as time and resources permitted, state-level information, as well as that from nongovernmental organizations and universities. Support was sought to develop user-friendly applications to enable members of the border communities to more easily acquire the data they need on a media-specific and regional basis.

The web page will includes a survey form for community and user input and suggestions. The web site will also include a template for use by agencies with electronic databases relating to the border environment for submitting information to be included in the Inventory and Directory.

The Border Eco Web (BEW) is designed to facilitate public access to environmental information for the U.S.-Mexican border region. Since this is a working draft, you will find that many pages are still under construction. Community involvement is an important component of this project. To help them serve your needs for border environmental information on the internet, please take a moment to fill out their online questionnaires.

The Border Eco Web INVENTORY provides brief descriptions and links to various datasets available on the Internet. These links are organized by media, organization, and region. They have also developed a DIRECTORY that contains contact information and project descriptions for government agencies and other groups involved in activities dealing with the border environment. Partners include:

v EPA

v SEMARNAP

v San Diego State University

§ Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias

§ Center for Energy Studies

§ College of Sciences

§ Center for Earth Systems Analysis Research (CESAR)

v U.S.-Mexico Border Information Institute (Instituto de Información Fronteriza México-Estados Unidos)

v Border XXI Environmental Information Resources Work Group

v Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC)

Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) TC "Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC)"

Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (COCEF)

http://www.cocef.org/

The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) / Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (COCEF) works to preserve, protect and enhance human health and the environment of the U.S. - Mexico border region, by strengthening cooperation among interested parties and supporting sustainable projects through a transparent binational process in close coordination with the North American Development Bank, federal, state and local agencies, the private sector, and civil society.

The BECC/COCEF is an international organization created by the Governments of the United States and Mexico under the side agreements to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The purpose of the BECC is to help conserve, protect and enhance the environment in the U.S.-Mexico border region, through the development and certification of environmental infrastructure projects that incorporate innovative sustainability and public participation concepts. Once certified by the BECC/COCEF, a project may qualify for funding from the North American Development Bank (NADB) or from other sources requiring such certification. The NADB was also established under the same side agreement to NAFTA. Information about NADB’s programs can be found at www.nadb.org.

BECC is authorized to work in an area covering 62 miles (100 km) on the U.S. side of the border, and 186 miles (300 km) on the Mexico side. Its mandate includes projects related to water pollution, wastewater treatment, municipal solid waste management and related matters. “Related matters” is defined to include hazardous waste, water conservation, hookups to water and sewer systems, and waste reduction and recycling. Projects related to air quality, transportation, clean and efficient energy, and municipal planning and development, including water management, have also been added to the BECC’s mandate.

The BECC's operating budget is funded by contributions from Mexico, through the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources, and from the United States, through both the Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to its operating budget, the BECC manages the Project Development Assistance Program (PDAP), which is funded with contributions from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This program allows the BECC to use grant funds to support border communities in the development of their water and wastewater projects.

BECC is governed by a binational Board of Directors, composed of ten members (five from each country), which represents the federal, state and local governments as well as civil society on the border. Day to day operations at BECC are overseen by a general manager and a deputy general manager, one from each country, with the support of a 45–member highly specialized binational staff who oversee the work of dozens of engineering consultants involved in the development of individual projects.

The BECC has managed to establish strong partnerships at all levels of government and with the general public. This effort has allowed the BECC to channel necessary resources to support its work and to advance comprehensive and long-term solutions through the development of environmental infrastructure. This unique coordinated approach supported with broad community participation has made the BECC a successful model of international cooperation.

Border PACT: Border Partners in Action TC "Border PACT: Border Partners in Action"

http://www. conahec.org/conahec/borderpact/english/about_borderpact.htm

Border PACT’s mission is to increase higher education institutions’ involvement as agents of change in the borderlands communities where they are located. Members of the network accept their responsibility to become part of the solution to the many challenges faced by their borderlands communities. Border PACT encourages its higher education institutions to expand their circle of partners and link with community-based organizations, government agencies, and the business sector.

Border PACT is a network of U.S. and Mexican higher education institutions dedicated to building human capacity through education and training. Border PACT was first co-convened by Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC), the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES) in 1997 with the support of The Ford Foundation. Border PACT - Border Partners in Action is funded with the generous financial support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Given the environmental, socioeconomic and institutional diversity that exists along the U.S.-Mexico border, CONAHEC has organized the borderlands into four regions:

Region 1: California/Baja California;
Region 2: Arizona/Sonora;
Region 3: New Mexico, West Texas/Chihuahua; and,
Region 4: Central & East Texas/Coahuila, Nuevo Leon & Tamaulipas

The Border PACT Grants Program or U.S.-Mexico Borderlands Collaborative Grants Program was created to increase the involvement of higher education institutions from both sides of the border in collaborative binational projects that focus on academic and border community development in the areas of health, education, environment, economic development and community issues. CONAHEC’s Border PACT grants program is unique since it provides the critical seed money necessary to get higher education institutions, NGOs and the private sector working together with the communities in which they are located on projects to improve life for residents of the U.S. – Mexico borderlands. Projects are supported in the areas of education, health, environment, community development and economic development. Each is selected based on the quality of its design, the potential it has to have a positive impact in its host community and the likelihood that it will be able to continue to find support subsequent to the expenditure of this initial seed funding. Past results of funded projects have been excellent and have addressed important areas of study and current borderlands issues.

Borderland Management Task Force (BMTF) TC "Borderland Management Task Force (BMTF)"

no web site

The BMTF’s mission is to facilitate an intergovernmental forum for cooperative problem-solving on common issues related to the Arizona-Mexico border. The primary mission is to address border security, human safety, and natural and cultural resource protection through shared resources, information, communication, problem-solving, standardization and training.

BTMF goals are:

v To create a positive, intergovernmental working relationship and foster support among agencies charged with border responsibilities;

v To provide expertise, experience and information to address common border issues;

v To educate our agencies and interested parties about border issues and recommendations for the implementation of possible solutions.

Within the border zone, the missions of the land management agencies and of the law enforcement agencies must be carefully coordinated to avoid conflict, to stretch limited resources and to arrive at common solutions. The BMTF was formed and remains first and foremost, an intergovernmental forum for recognizing and resolving border issues.

Almost 86% of the Arizona border with Mexico falls within federal and tribal jurisdiction including the Tohono O’odham Nation, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the Department of Defense. The State of Arizona manages state trust lands including the San Rafael State Park and exercises jurisdiction in the borderlands as well. Law enforcement authorities within these agencies, especially the Department of Homeland Security, are charged with securing the border and protecting federal and tribal lands and resources. These same lands which contain highly valued cultural, natural and tribal resources are experiencing extreme impacts from illegal immigration and smuggling.

The BMTF accomplishes its work on the Arizona-Mexico border through regular meetings during which information is shared, proposals are formulated and supported, and subgroups may be formed to address specific issues through recommendations or actions. Subgroups are generally made up of representatives of the agencies that have specific responsibilities, special expertise, or bona fida interest in specific issues such as telecommunications, safety, wilderness management or geographical information systems (GIS).

The BMTF is not a rule-making body, does not engage in policy statements outside individual agencies and does not fund projects directly. Executive-level decisions, interagency agreements, correspondence related to policy or funding proposals, or Congressional and media inquiries are referred to the agency executives from the BMTF members. The BMTF does not take the place of individual agency reviews or actions on border issues.

Membership in the BMRF includes Southern Arizona Tribal Nations (Cocopah, Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O’odham), Federal Agencies (Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice: United States Attorney’s Office-Arizona, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of National Drug Control Policy) and the State of Arizona (Governor’s Office of Homeland Defense; Department of Agriculture; Arizona Game and Fish Department; Arizona State Land Department; Arizona State Parks).

California Center for Border and Regional Economic Studies (CCBRES) TC "California Center for Border and Regional Economic Studies (CCBRES)"

http://www.ccbres.sdsu.edu/

The California Center for Border and Regional Economic Studies (CCBRES) was established in 1998 at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus.

The Campus, by virtue of its location and focus, is in the unique position to be able to act as the catalyst of change through information and educational programs. This will be a collaborative effort between CCBRES and the surrounding communities in the region.

The mission of CCBRES is to inform public and private decision makers of demographic, economic and social trends in the Imperial County and the western U.S.-Mexican border region.

The vision of the SDSU-Imperial Valley Campus is to create a resource for the Imperial Valley, California-Baja California, Mexico border residents, and individuals interested in the issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Center is responsible for the collection and compilation of economic, demographic, social, environmental, and trade indicators on the Imperial County, Mexicali, and binational region. These data are stored and maintained at the Center. CCBRES also conducts directed studies and analysis of issues related to growth, economic development, and community development in the region.

The initial funding for CCBRES came from a Rural Business Enterprise Grant through the United States Department of Agriculture. This grant provided the set up funds to establish the infrastructure and conduct the initial research for the databases.

Center for Inter-American and Border Studies (CIBS), University of Texas El Paso TC "Center for Inter-American and Border Studies (CIBS), University of Texas El Paso"

http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=12619

The Center for Inter-American and Border Studies (CIBS) contributes to the fulfillment of the University of Texas, El Paso’s (UTEP) mission by conducting and promoting research, academic programs, and public programming on themes related to Inter-American and Border Studies. These themes include culture and language, the arts, economics, trade, society, history, ecosystems and environment, health, and education in the Americas and the border region. The Center is especially dedicated to the accomplishment of these goals through partnerships within and across national boundaries.

In all three components, CIBS is especially dedicated to establishing innovative visions of the Border and Inter-American region that integrate traditionally separate fields of knowledge and people that work in them, as well as integrating theory and practice to realize UTEP’s intellectual and social mission. CIBS is dedicated to activities that unite the campus and community partners in the production and dissemination of knowledge.

CIBS’ objective is to be a Center of excellence in matters related to the U.S.-Mexico Border, Border issues in general, Mexico, and Inter-American phenomena. It will achieve that through its research, academic programs, and outreach. In addition to its own programs, it assists other university units to become similarly recognized for the application of disciplinary perspectives to Border and Inter-American topics.

The Center’s interdisciplinary academic programs will educate a new generation of professionals and scholars dedicated to application and generation of new knowledge about the Border and Latin America. Its research will contribute to wider understanding of the U.S.-Mexico Border and other Inter-American topics. Its outreach activities will provide opportunities for the wider community, both regional and international, to appreciate the nature of the Border and other situations in which people of different nations interact.

Center for Latin American and Border Studies (CLABS), New Mexico State University TC "Center for Latin American and Border Studies (CLABS), New Mexico State University"

http://www.nmsu.edu/~clas/index.html

The mission of the Center for Latin American and Border Studies is to foster excellence in Latin American academics at New Mexico State University.

The Center accomplishes this mission by pursuing the following broad objectives:

Stimulate scholarship on Latin America
Encourage excellence in academic programs related to Latin America
Provide outreach to the public and to public schools on Latin America
Encourage grant writing relevant to Latin America
Serve as a clearinghouse for activities related to Latin America on the NMSU campus
CLABS serves the entite NMSU community and is governed by an executive commitee.

CLABS programs include the following:

Supports research on Latin America and U.S.-Mexico border issues
Engages in grant proposal writing for projects relating to Latin America and the U.S.-Mexico border
Assists the Spanish and Portuguese programs of the Department of Languages and Linguistics
Supports the NMSU Library in the acquisition of Latin America related books and journals
Conducts outreach workshops on Latin American subjects for public school teachers of history, social studies, and languages
Supplements funding for travel by faculty, staff, and students at NMSU to attend conferences, workshops, and seminars
Publishes Frontera NorteSur
Sponsors a speaker series of scholars engaged in research on Latin America
Administers the Charles and Willoughby Nason Foundation Endowment
Provides Nason Scholarships for students

Center for United States-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego TC "Center for United States-Mexican Studies, University of Califonia, San Diego"

http://usmex.ucsd.edu/

The mission of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD is to be the premier institute for social science research on Mexico and U.S.-Mexican relations. The Center supports research relevant to current policy issues in Mexico and to the binational relationship in close collaboration with social scientists at Mexican institutions. In addition, most of the Center's research involves comparative studies with a substantial Mexico component.

The Center is actively engaged in numerous, highly productive projects and programs including research on Mexico and U.S.-Mexico Relations. The following research projects are currently supported by the Center:

Justice System Reform
Democratic Consolidation
Environment And Sustainable Development (especially border water)
Economic Development
Mexican migration to the United States

Research findings by the Center's academic staff and affiliated researchers are actively disseminated to the public through the following:

Public conferences and workshops related to ongoing research projects are held several times a year at the Center and at collaborating institutions in Mexico. Research Seminars on Mexico and U.S.-Mexico Relations are held every other week during the academic year and have consistently featured some of the most outstanding thinkers on Mexico in the world.

Publications: The Center publishes more social science and historical research on Mexico and U.S.-Mexican relations than virtually any other publisher. Working Papers are available online at http://repositories.cdlib.org/usmex/.

Media relations: Center personnel give numerous interviews and provide background to members of the international, regional, and local print and electronic media.

The Center is fortunate to receive generous funding from a variety of organizations and individuals. We currently receive support from the University of California Office of the President, the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, Sempra Energy, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. State Department, the United States Agency for International Development/Association Liaison Office, the Embassy of the United States in Mexico, the United States Consulate in Tijuana, the U.S. Department of Education (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) and numerous private donors.

Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) TC "Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)"

http://www.cec.org/

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The commission includes a Council, a Joint Public Advisory Committee and a Secretariat. The Council, the governing body of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is composed of the environment ministers (or the equivalent) of each country. It meets at least once a year to discuss CEC programs and activities. The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) is composed of fifteen members, five from each of the three countries (Canada, Mexico and the United States), who are appointed by their respective governments. Its members act independently and their responsibility is to provide the Council with their advice on all matters within the scope of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The Chair of the JPAC is elected for a one-year term and by rotation from among the JPAC members appointed for each country. The Secretariat is composed of professional staffs that implement initiatives and conduct research in core program areas on topics pertaining to the North American environment, environmental law and standards, and other environment/trade issues, in addition to processing citizen submissions on enforcement matters. The Secretariat, which is located in Montreal, Canada, with a liaison office in Mexico City, provides technical and operational support to the Council, as well as to committees and groups established by the Council.

CEC programs and projects include topics in the following areas:

¨ Environment, Economy and Trade

¨ Conservation of Biodiversity

¨ Pollutants and Health

¨ Law and Policy

¨ Secretariat Reports

Desert Fishes Council (DFC) TC "Desert Fishes Council (DFC)"

http://www.desertfishes.org/

The Desert Fishes Council (DFC) includes approximately 300 university research scientists, government agency resource managers and private sector components dedicated to the conservation of North America's arid land ecosystems.

DFC is concerned over biological integrity irrespective of international borders, and remains in close communication binationally. DFC activities are summarized in their website. The DFC has practiced continuing biodiversity conservation for more than 30 years. Example: Citizens involvement in protection of Cuatro Cienegas, a biologically rich area in northern Coahuila. Continuing as in the past, conducting suitable projects as they arise. Example: involvement in a widespread effort to create a biosphere reserve area in the Sierra San Pedro Martir of Baja California.

DFC holds annual symposia, meeting every third year in Mexico, and provides financial assistance to Mexican scientists and graduate students to enable them to travel to our meeting, present papers, and otherwise participate. They produce annual proceedings of these symposia, and these are available in hard copy from the above address.

Areas of interest include:

¨ water

¨ natural resources

¨ legislation/policy/regulations

¨ environmental health

¨ environmental education

¨ watershed management

Frontera NorteSur (FNS), New Mexico State University TC "Frontera NorteSur (FNS), New Mexico State University"

http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/

The Center for Latin American and Border Studies at New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef) and the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), under the auspices of the Hewlett Foundation, have undertaken the creation of the Paso del Norte: Integrating the Region publication series. The goal of the series is to publish and distribute works of the highest quality that deal with topics related to the Las Cruces, NM; El Paso, TX; and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua border region and its inhabitants, covering the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering.

Frontera NorteSur (FNS) is an on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news source. It publishes daily news stories from Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez/Chihuahua and the Matamoros-Reynosa-Nuevo Laredo area. On a bimonthly basis it provides in-depth stories on different aspects of the border. FNS emphasizes stories with cross-border themes. Attention is focused on immigration, commerce, environment, transportation, politics, health, security, women's rights, human rights and infrastructure. Guest articles are solicited from noted experts and scholars. FNS was first published in hard copy beginning in September 1993. The publication went on-line in March 1996. All on-line editions are archived and searchable. On-line articles include current news, and information on the following topics:

v Commerce

v Crossings

v Education

v Environment

v Health

v Human Rights

v Immigration

v Politics

v Security

Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB) TC "Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB)"

http://www.epa.gov/ocem/gneb/

The Good Neighbor Environmental Board (GNEB) is an independent federal advisory committee. Its mission is to advise the President and Congress of the United States on good neighbor practices along the U.S. border with Mexico. Its recommendations are focused on environmental infrastructure needs within the U.S. states contiguous to Mexico. The Board is authorized under Section 6 of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative Act, 7 U.S. C. Section 5404. The statute requires the GNEB to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. The GNEB has submitted reports in October 1995, April 1997, and July 1998. The GNEB's 1997 [and 1998] report[s] also were translated into Spanish and widely disseminated on both sides of the border. The Board advises on approaches to sustainable development for the U.S.-Mexico border region that address environmental, natural resources, health, transportation, housing, and economic development issues.

Good Neighbor does not carry out any specific border program. Rather its role is to step back as an expert, concerned observer and analyze the big picture when it comes to the problems the border region faces, as well as the opportunities at hand.

The committee consists of representatives from environmental groups, industry, academia, and state, local and tribal governments in the States of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, and from eight U.S. Government agencies, i.e., the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Good Neighbor also confers regularly with Mexican organizations including The Region 1 National Advisory Council for Sustainable Development (Consejo). It meets three times a year at various border locations.

Good Neighbor submits its advice to the President and Congress in the form of reports containing recommendations for action. Its first report was published in 1995. Since that time, it has continued to provide an objective, consensus-based voice on strategic approaches for addressing U.S.-Mexico border issues. Recurring themes in its guidance include the following: focus on areas of greatest need; better integrate existing projects; support new initiatives that provide added value; involve many different organizations early on and throughout the process; and institute an underlying, environmentally sustainable framework as the basis for making decisions.

Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) TC "Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)"

http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/hidta2001/ariz-fs.html

The mission of the Southwest Border HIDTA Arizona Partnership is to facilitate federal, state and local multi-agency task forces and other partnerships to increase the safety of Arizona's citizens, by substantially reducing drug trafficking and money laundering, thereby reducing drug-related crime and violence.

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and the ONDCP Reauthorization Act of 1998 authorized the Director of The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to designate areas within the United States which exhibit serious drug trafficking problems and harmfully impact other areas of the country as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). Law enforcement organizations within HIDTAs assess drug trafficking problems and design specific initiatives to reduce or eliminate the production, manufacture, transportation, distribution and chronic use of illegal drugs and money laundering.

The Southwest Border HIDTA Arizona Partnership, comprised of counties designated in 1990 as part of the Southwest Border HIDTA, consists of seven Arizona counties: Cochise, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yuma.

The Arizona Executive Committee of 13 Arizona law enforcement executives, monitors the Director's implementation of the strategy and provides a coordination umbrella over the 21 networked initiatives operating in the seven designated Arizona counties. Each county has a primary investigative or interdiction task force consisting of federal, state, and local agencies working in collocated or collaborative environments targeting the most significant drug trafficking organizations in their geographic area. In the three counties that border Mexico, the "centerpiece" task forces are primarily focused on interdiction responsibilities. Specialized task forces target violent drug gangs, specialized prosecutions, the movement of drug money and money laundering, and include intelligence collection and sharing initiatives. All the Arizona Partnership task forces provide their intelligence databases to the Arizona HIDTA Center in Tucson, Arizona. The center ensures automated and human access to databases for task force personnel and other law enforcement agencies.

The Arizona Partnership has five separate, but integrally related priorities: 1) Interdiction of drug smuggling from Mexico and South America; 2) The investigation, prosecution and dismantlement of major drug smuggling, trafficking, and money laundering organizations in Arizona; 3) The immobilization of methamphetamine laboratories and the control of drug lab precursor chemicals in Arizona; 4) The control and reduction of violent crime associated with drug trafficking; and 5) The collection, analysis and dissemination of drug related intelligence to law enforcement agencies. All Arizona Partnership initiatives are committed to sharing intelligence with each other and the Arizona HIDTA Center.

International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) TC "International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)"

http://www.ibwc.state.gov/

The mission of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) is to provide binational solutions to issues that arise during the application of United States - Mexico treaties regarding boundary demarcation, national ownership of waters, sanitation, water quality, and flood control in the border region.

The IBWC applies the rights and obligations which the Governments of the United States and Mexico assume under the numerous boundary and water treaties and related agreements, and to do so in a way that benefits the social and economic welfare of the peoples on the two sides of the boundary and improves relations between the two countries. As provided for in the treaties and agreements, those rights and obligations include: distribution between the two countries of the waters of the Rio Grande and of the Colorado River; regulation and conservation of the waters of the Rio Grande for their use by the two countries by joint construction, operation and maintenance of international storage dams and reservoirs and plants for generating hydroelectric energy at the dams; regulation of the Colorado River waters allocated to Mexico; protection of lands along the river from floods by levee and floodway projects; solution of border sanitation and other border water quality problems; preservation of the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary; and demarcation of the land boundary.

Established in 1889, the IBWC has responsibility for applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences that may arise in their application. The IBWC is an international body composed of the United States Section and the Mexican Section, each headed by an Engineer-Commissioner appointed by his/her respective president. Each Section is administered independently of the other. The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) is a federal government agency and is headquartered in El Paso, Texas. The IBWC operates under the foreign policy guidance of the Department of State. The Mexican Section is under the administrative supervision of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is headquartered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Convention of 1889 creating the International Boundary Commission (IBC), and the 1944 Treaty which changed its name to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), both provide that it shall consist of a United States Section and a Mexican Section. The 1944 Treaty further provides that it shall in all respects have the status of an international body, that the head of each Section must be an Engineer Commissioner and that wherever Treaty provisions call for joint action or joint agreement by the two Governments such matters shall be handled by or through the Department of State of the United States and the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico. The Commissioner for each Section functions under the foreign policy supervision of the Foreign Office of his Government.

International Relations Center (IRC) America’s Program TC "International Relations Center (IRC) America’s Program"

http://www.irc-online.org/

The IRC's Americas Program seeks to explore and promote policy options for economic development, trade, and international relations in the Americas that are both workable and firmly grounded in the principles of sustainable development and environmental protection, equitable economic development, multilateralism, and respect for human rights. Specific program objectives include:

Provide citizens, activists, and others in the Americas who are working on integration and key transnational issues like hemispheric drug policies or cross-border migration with analysis and information they can use to make informed decisions, play a role in debates on public policy, and act as instruments for social change.
Explore differences of opinion and build consensus on the appropriate and responsible role for the United States and key international institutions in inter-American affairs and work for more responsible U.S. policies toward Latin America in key issue areas.
Feed the insights and experiences of civil society into decision-making circles in order to promote the resolution of regional problems and positively influence the broader policies shaping the U.S.-Latin American relationship.
Foster increased information sharing, communication, and understanding between the nations and peoples of the Americas and promote deepened hemispheric cooperation and unity on issues of shared importance.

Broadly speaking, the Americas Program focuses on issues relating to international cooperation and equitable and sustainable development in Latin America as well as the role of U.S. foreign policy in the region. Issues of particular concern to us include:

U.S.-Mexico relations, including: border affairs, binational environmental policy, security cooperation, regional economic development, trade, migration, and antinarcotics policy.
The relationship between free trade in the Americas and environmental degradation, natural resource use, and