United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
                     UPDATE
                                                Information Resources
                                                Management
                                                (PM-211A)
                                                                          October 1991
                   220N91010
        •MS91
Mexico's Environmental Laws, Regulations and Standards
To support EPA's work related to Mexico, the Office of International Activities (OIA) and the Office of General
Counsel (OGQ have obtained and compiled various materials related to that country's national environmental
program.  These materials include translated versions of Mexico's federal environmental laws, most (if not all) of
the implementing regulations and standards that have been issued since 1988,  and other additional documents of
interest. Due to the increased interest in Mexico's programs generated by work on the U.S.-Mexico Border Plan,
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other efforts, OGC has made these materials available to
EPA employees and the public through EPA's library.  Now available for reference in the Headquarters Library
International collection and in the Law Library are five looseleaf binders containing:
         (1)  The national law and the organization of SEDUE
         (Secretaria de Dcsarrollo Urbano Y Ecologia - EPA's
         counterpart in Mexico)
          (2) The 1983 U.S.-Mcxico Border Agreement, with
         Annexes, and the 1983 U.S.-Mexico Agreement for
         Mexico City; and regulations, standards and test
         procedures relating to:
                (3) environmental impact
                (4) air and water pollution
                (5) hazardous wastes, pesticides, and toxic
                       substances.
      Additional materials will be added over time
      as newly adopted regulations are received and
      translated.
      OIA plans to publish these documents jointly
      with SEDUE in the near future. Until then,
      please consult the INFOTERR A staff at FTS
      260-5917 concerning restrictions on copying.
This article was written by Ellen Shapiro of the
        Ojjlce of General Counsel
NEW JOURNAL REVIEW:
        Japan Environment Monitor

 Japan Environment Monitor is one of the new Journals in the
rapidly expanding International Collection in the Headquarters
Library.  It is published monthly by a volunteer staff devoted to
grassroots environmentalism.  Japan Environmental Monitor was
conceived as a way to link Japanese environmental organizations
and activists with their counterparts in other parts of the world.
It focuses on environmental issues specific to Japan but with
international implications.

The majority of the journal contains reprints of articles which
have appeared in other Japanese magazines and newsletters.
Regular features include the "News Shorts" section which is a
compilation  of news briefs covering the past month obtained from
Japanese newspapers, journals, and national mass-circulation
Dailies (Japan Times, Asahi Evening News, Mainichi Shimbun,
 tc.j.  In addition, poems, book reviews, and announcements of
 pcoming conferences are interspersed throughout each issue.
       Japan Environment Monitor is
       written from the environmental
       activist's viewpoint.  The editorials
       and commentaries are
       controversial and pointedly critical
       of the Japanese government's
       environmental policies.  It is an
       excellent source of the Japanese
       debate on environmental issues.
       For more information please
       contact the INFOTERRA staff at
       FTS 260-5917.
                            -Gary Prevost

     Printed on Recycled Paper

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Did  You  Know?...

       Just the Facts, Ma'am

Statistical indicators of environmental conditions are among
the most frequent requests received at INFOTERRA, and
among the most difficult to locate.

INFOTERRA has made the acquisition of statistical sources
a priority to meet this need for facts and figures.  Following
is a list of selected sources of environmental statistics
available in the International Collection at the Headquarters
Library. Reference materials do not circulate.
Environmental Data Reporter. UNEP. 1990. REF
QH541.15M64E58 1989/90.

Environmental Indicators: A Preliminary Set. OECD. 1991.
REF HC79.E5ET78 1991.

Guide to Kev Environmental Statistics in the U.S.
Government U.S. EPA and World Resources Institute. 1990.
HC79£5A3 1990.

OECD Environmental Data Compendium. OECD. 1989.
REFTD169.O71989.

World Development Report 199Q. World Bank.  1990.
HC59.7W6591990.

World Resources. 1990-91. World Resources Institute and
UNEP.  1990. REF HC.W6675 1990.

World Tables 1989-90. World Bank. 1990. REFHC59.W669
1990.
R e cent  Article s
           New and Noteworthy
Bird, Chris. "Medicines from the Rainforest," New
Scientist August 17, 1991. No. 1782. pp. 34-39.

Hahn, Jurgen. "Environmental Effects of the Kuwaiti Oil
Field Fires," Environmental Science & Technology.
September 1991.  Vol. 25, No. 9. pp. 1530-1532.

Hinrichsen, Don.  'Those Danube Blues," [Eastern European
pollution] International Wildlife. September/October 1991.
Vol. 21, No. 5. pp. 38-46.
   INTERNATIONAL, USER-FRIENDLY &
             STA TE-OF-THE-ART

The USAID Bulletin Board System

A new electronic bulletin board,  USAID, sponsored by
the U.S. Agency for International Development, is now
accessible to the public. Users have a choice of several
Special  Interest Groups (SIGs)  that contain different
kinds of information on international development topics
like education, health, agriculture, communications and
the environment. Two of these SIGs are AID sponsored
sub-boards: CDCNET (Clearinghouse for Development
Communication) and  LEARN-TECHNET  (Learning
Technologies Network for Basic  Education Project).
Although not all files have been loaded on CDCNET, it
will contain information on  applications  of specific
communication media to international development issues,
including the environment
    Other Special Interest Groups (not sponsored by
AID)  include information on   PC communications and
software; information on space engineering and research;
                   and health related topics. Finally,
                   there  is a SIG for miscellaneous
                   information not covered in other
                   areas called ECLECTIC. The
                   ECLECTIC   SIG   includes
                   Worldwide Echomail.  Messages
                   to any bulletin boards around the
world can be relayed through many of the message
conferences. Disc file transfer and faxing is also possible
through this bulletin board.
     To log on  to the USAID bulletin board dial (202)
296-6304. Set your data to 8 bits, parity to none and baud
speed to 2400. The system is run  by New  Generation
Computers. For more  information or a demonstration
contact the system  operator, Mark Prado at (202) 466-
6275.
                                        —Lili Vivonco
 MacKenzie, Debora. "Europe's Hot Air over Carbon Cuts,'
 New Scientist. August 24, 1991. No. 1783. pp. 17-18.

 Rubenson, Sven. "Environmental Stress and Conflict in
 Ethiopian History: Looking for Correlations," Ambio.
 August 1991. Vol. 20, No. 5. pp. 179-182.

 Westing, Arthur H. "Environmental Security and its
 Relation to Ethiopia and Sudan," Ambio. August 1991.
 Vol. 20, No. 5. pp. 168-171.

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