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of over w yearm
PA's Office of International Affai
I A) has enlisted the cooperation
of other nations to help solve
nvironmentalproblems of mutual
concern. We recognize that long-tern
grew requires t]be efforts of nationi
ribal, state and local governments,
rnational organizations, theprivi
sector, and concerned citizens.
COVER PHOTO:
ISS007-E-10807 (21 July 2003)—This view of Earth's horizon as the sun
sets over the Pacific Ocean was taken by an Expedition 7 crewmember
onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Anvil tops of thunderclouds
arc also visible. Image courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis
Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov
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International Environmental
Cooperation and the EPA
Since its establishment in 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has improved the quality of life for all Americans
by safeguarding their air, water, and land and helping protect their
health. Indeed, the domestic successes of the EPA's public health and
environmental protection programs - including the Safe Drinking
Water Program, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Brownfield
Redevelopment, the Toxics Release Inventory, the Acid Rain Program,
and countless initiatives co-sponsored by citizens, businesses, and state,
local, and tribal governments - have been truly impressive.
However, addressing issues at home is only part of the environmental
equation. As globalization continues to affect the world and as we better
understand the interdependencies of ecosystems and the transport of
pollutants, it becomes clearer that we live in a global environment. The
water quality of a lake here in the United States, for example, is affected
not only by pesticides from neighboring farms, lawns, and gardens,
but also by pollutants emitted thousands of miles away. Similarly, the
depletion of a natural resource in one nation can have environmental and
economic ramifications in many other countries.
On a more positive note, recent advances in data processing and
information sharing present new opportunities for protecting the world's
air, water, and land. The United States is now able to share its decades
of experience in environmental management with other countries with
greater efficiency and less cost than ever before. Our ability to work with
partners throughout the world to monitor pollution, develop baseline
environmental measures, and fill in gaps in environmental data has also
improved dramatically in recent years.
International engagement is a key component to protecting human
health and the environment in the United States. In assisting developing
countries to manage their natural resources and protect the health of
their citizens, we help ensure our own well-being. In collaborating
with other countries and with multilateral organizations to solve
environmental problems, we leverage valuable financial and human
resources and work more efficiently to protect the global commons.
THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
The Office of International Affairs (OIA) leads EPA's efforts to address
global environmental issues. In many cases, OIA makes regional EPA
initiatives more effective by connecting them to projects of other nations
with shared interests. OIA-led cooperation with the governments of
Mexico and Canada, for example, leverages resources to protect human
health and the environment for the millions of people who live along both
sides of our nation's northern and southern borders. In other cases, OIA
focuses on issues - such as marine pollution or the long-range transport of
pollutants - that only sustained international cooperation can help solve.
International Cooperation for the Environment
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OIA ORGANIZATION
Staffed by a diverse and highly educated group of professionals with
extensive international experience, OIA benefits from a wide variety
of perspectives. Among OIA's employees are economists, lawyers,
engineers, political scientists, historians, teachers, zoologists, biologists,
oceanographers, and urban planners. The Office's staff includes veteran
EPA employees, former State Department officials, and individuals
with past service in the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Peace Corps. A
Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator
leads OIA.
Four program offices comprise OIA:
The Office of International Environmental Policy provides leadership,
analysis, and coordination for EPA's work with multilateral organizations,
such as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This Office also leads EPA's work on international policy initiatives that
address marine pollution and the intersection between international trade
and the environment.
The Office of Western Hemisphere and Bilateral Affairs implements EPA's
bilateral technical assistance, capacity-building, and policy programs with
priority countries and regions, including Mexico, Russia, China, India,
and Central America.
The Office ofTechnology Cooperation and Assistance is responsible
for managing international air, water, and toxics programs and
for coordinating international training, technology transfer, and
environmental information initiatives. The Office works with a wide
variety of partners to develop, implement and manage international
capacity building and technical assistance programs.
The Office of Management Operations provides administrative direction
and guidance for all OIA programs, as well as for some EPA-wide
initiatives. Among this Office's responsibilities are the management
of OIA's finances and human resources, technology, and reviews
of international grants and interagency agreements. The Office of
Management Operations also manages the Agency's International Travel
and International Visitors Programs.
Involvement of EPA Regional Offices
Drawing on extensive expertise and contacts at the
state and local level, the EPA's ten regional offices play
a critical role in pursuing international environmental
objectives. OIA coordinates this work through a network of
international regional coordinators.
Office of International Affairs
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OIA GOALS
OIA's programs focus on four basic
environmental goals: clean air, clean
water, marine protection, and the sound
management ot toxic chemicals.
Clean Air
According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), air pollution now
endangers the health and well-being of as
many as 1.4 billion people living in urban
areas. Pollution from outside U.S. borders
increasingly threatens air quality in this
country.
OIA is working with other nations and through multilateral
organizations to reduce air pollution at its source. Cooperative programs
with Mexico and Canada, for instance, help to control air pollution that
degrades environmental quality throughout North America. OIA's work
in Central America, Asia, and Africa has improved our understanding of
air pollution's sources, transport, and effects. Because of this improved
understanding, OIA has been better able to help developing countries
monitor, assess, and mitigate pollution.
Clean Water
Lack of access to clean and safe drinking water remains a pressing
global problem. According to the World Health Organization, 2.2
million people - most of them children - die each year from preventable
waterborne diseases because they do not have adequate access to clean
and safe water. Poor water quality can also negatively affect valuable
natural resources and limit potential economic benefits from tourism. At
the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002, the
United States joined with many other countries to support the United
Nations Millennium Goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of people
without access to safe drinking water and sanitation. EPA's international
efforts are helping to achieve that goal. Already, the Agency's
cooperation with counterpart organizations in Mexico and Canada has
improved the quality ot shared water bodies such as the Rio Grande.
Marine Protection
The world's coastal waters and oceans are deteriorating as a result ot
increasing coastal development, vessel pollution, and habitat destruction.
These effects are most pronounced in near-coastal and estuarine waters.
Significant degradation of coastal and oceanic waters is occurring in both
developed and developing countries.
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OIA's strategy to help reduce degradation ot the marine environment
consists ot two principal components. The first is the development
and implementation of global legal standards that address vessel source
pollution. This is done through our leadership in the U.S. interagency
policy context and through negotiations in the Marine Environment
Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO). The second area of focus is the reduction of land-
based marine pollution in the Gult ot Mexico and the \Vider Caribbean
Region. In this area, OIA is working to implement the Land-Based
Sources Protocol that was concluded in 1999 through UNEP's Regional
Seas Program. OIA will also pursue the application of best practices
and lessons learned in watershed management, wastewater treatment,
and low-impact development. Other areas ot emphasis include invasive
species, ocean dumping, and the protection of coral reefs.
Sound Management ofToxic Chemicals
Developing countries often
lack the capacity to manage
toxic chemicals properly;
consequently, the risks that
these substances pose can
cancel out their potential
benefits to agriculture, health
care, manufacturing, and
other sectors. Improper
management or disposal ot
chemicals poses a danger not
only to developing countries,
but also to the global
environment. Many of these
substances, once released
into the environment, can
travel long distances and
affect ecosystems and human
populations that lie far from
the point of use or disposal.
For instance, due to global
wind patterns, Alaska can
receive POPs from both East
Asia and northern Europe. POPs can also travel in rivers from southeast
and central Asia into the Pacific Ocean, where water currents flow into
the Arctic Ocean.
OIA is collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO),
the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and other
international bodies to reduce the risks from toxic chemicals. By leading
EPA in international negotiations and developing capacity-building
programs for industrializing countries, OIA is helping to implement the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), a treaty
that will reduce the global production, use, and release of 12 of the most
harmful chemicals.
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OIA STRATEGIES
OIA employs a range of strategies for achieving its goals of clean air,
clean water, marine protection, and the sound management of toxic
chemicals. These strategies include participation in bilateral and
regional programs, cooperation with multilateral organizations like the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the World Bank,
and the OECD, and contribution to a set of thematic initiatives that
focus on critical global concerns, such as the Mercury Initiative and
the protection of children's health. OIA integrates the principles of
environmental justice into its policies and projects that support these
goals. Underlying each of these strategies is extensive cooperation
with other parts of EPA, the U.S. government, and business and
environmental organizations.
Bilateral and Regional Cooperation
OIA collaborates on the following bilateral and regional programs:
Mexico: The benefits of the EPA's international programs are perhaps
most apparent along the U.S.-Mexico border. Working together under
the 1983 La Paz Agreement, the United States and Mexico have made
enormous progress in the protection and improvement of health and
environmental conditions along the 2,000-mile border.
The recent adoption of the Border 2012 Program lays out a roadmap
for continued environmental cooperation over the next ten years. The
Program emphasizes local priority-setting, focuses on measurable
environmental results, and encourages broad public participation.
Among other projects, the two nations now are involved in joint efforts
to combat air pollution in "sister cities" along the border, to improve the
treatment of wastewater and the management of hazardous materials,
and to increase the availability of safe drinking water in border
communities.
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The U.S. and Mexico also work together under two bi-national
institutions set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA): the North American Development Bank (NADBank) and
the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). As of
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October 2003, these two institutions—which finance the development
of necessary environmental infrastructure—have certified 91 projects, 43
of which are either operational or under construction. When completed,
these projects will serve more than 9 million people.
Canada: Long-standing cooperation with Canada, dating back
to the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, has resulted in significant
environmental gains along the world's longest shared border, especially in
the fight against water and air pollution. EPA and Environment Canada
have led their respective governments in the protection and improvement
of water quality in the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, and other shared
water systems. Meanwhile, harmonized approaches under the U.S.-
Canada Air Quality Agreement have greatly reduced trans-boundary
flows of sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants.
North America: Established under the environmental side agreement
to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Commission on
Environmental Cooperation (CEC) facilitates cooperation among the
United States, Canada, and Mexico to protect, conserve, and improve
the environment. Each country contributes $3 million a year to support
the CEC's work program, which focuses on four areas: 1) environment,
economy and trade; 2) conservation of biological diversity; 3) pollutants
and health; and 4) law and policy.
Wider Caribbean: EPA's work in the Gulf of Mexico and the Wider
Caribbean Region focuses on the prevention and management of land-
based sources of marine pollution, including agricultural run-off, sewage,
and other waste. OIA works with countries in the region to ensure
that they are employing the best practices of watershed management,
wastewater treatment, and low-impact development. For example, in
conjunction with the Office of Water, the Gulf of Mexico Program, and
Regions 4 and 6, OIA is developing a bilateral program with Mexico
for the management of marine ecosystems and resources in the Gulf of
Mexico. The Office is also working through the Regional Seas Program
of the United Nations Environment Program to help implement the
Land-Based Sources (LBS) Protocol of 1999.
Other OIA efforts in the Wider Caribbean include coordinating work
on the 1990 Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol and the
1983 Oil Spill Protocol under the Cartagena Convention. OIA is also
active in the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and the International Coral Reef
Initiative to manage coral reef resources in the Wider Caribbean Region.
Central America: EPA's programs in Central America, led by OIA in
conjunction with USAID, emphasize the development of compatible
systems for environmental legislation, regulations, and standards
among the seven Central American countries that participate in the
Central American Commission for Environment and Development.
OIA worked closely with USAID and the Pan-American Health
Organization (PAHO) to enhance safe drinking water monitoring and
lab capabilities in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras.
Office of International Affairs
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Europe: Cooperation with the European Union and many European
nations continues to yield substantial environmental results and has
facilitated the sharing of important environmental data. OIA and
European organizations are working to:
• coordinate on global environmental issues;
• coordinate technical assistance to other regions of the world;
• monitor the trade implications of harmonized standards in air,
biotechnology, chemicals, pesticides, and waste; and
• perform joint research and scientific development.
Russia and the Newly Independent States: OIA works closely with
USAID in Russia, Ukraine, and the New Independent States (NIS) to:
» strengthen the management capacity of NIS environmental
institutions;
• improve environmental quality and address health concerns
where possible, primarily through the use of low-cost, innovative
environmental technologies;
• run demonstration projects at specific sites, with subsequent
dissemination to other regions; and
• foster the elements of civil society and further democratic principles
in environmental decision-making.
Africa: Given the rapid urbanization occurring throughout Africa,
OIA is focusing EPA's efforts on the air, water, and toxics management
problems typical in expanding cities. OIA helps mobilize U.S. resources
and direct international capacity-building efforts toward urban Africa
and emphasizes the phase-out of leaded gasoline and the sound
management of toxic chemicals.
Thailand: In January 2004, EPA and Thailand's Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment (MONRE) signed an extension to their
1999 Memorandum of Understanding. This extension will allow EPA
and MONRE to continue formal collaboration on environmental
protection through 2009.
China: OIA is working with China to manage the environmental
impacts of rapid urbanization and economic development. Cooperative
activities focus on managing air pollution, including vehicle emissions
and tobacco smoke, protecting watersheds and sources of drinking water,
and reducing industrial pollution and consumption of water. OIA
coordinates EPA's overall relations with China's State Environmental
Protection Administration and oversees the work of EPA experts on
more than twenty-five technical assistance projects in China.
India: A December 2001 Joint Statement issued by President Bush and
Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee called for expanding and transforming
U.S.-India bilateral cooperation, including cooperation on environmental
issues. This prompted the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on
Cooperation in Environmental Protection signed by the EPA
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Administrator and Indian Minister of Environment and Forests in
January 2002. OIA coordinates EPA cross-agency engagements under
this MOU, which provides a framework for long-term cooperation in
improving air and water quality, management of toxic chemicals and
hazardous waste, and environmental governance.
Multilateral Cooperation
In addition to taking part in bilateral and regional ventures, OIA
participates in a number of multilateral projects. Among the most
important of these efforts are OIA's initiatives with the following
organizations:
International Maritime Organization: OIA, in cooperation with other
EPA offices and Federal agencies, works through the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish international rules and
standards pertaining to vessel discharges, air emissions from ships, and
ocean dumping. The IMO serves as the technical secretariat for global
negotiations among governments seeking to establish international
standards applicable to shipping worldwide. The Organization serves as
the principal vehicle for developing numerous vessel pollution standards.
It is also the legal venue for the development of new industry standards
as well as for the implementation and amendment of existing vessel and
pollution standards.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):
By facilitating EPA's involvement with the OECD and representing
the United States on such OECD bodies as the Environmental Policy
Committee, OIA facilitates U.S. participation in discussions with other
industrialized states about efficient and effective environmental policies.
The information shared among the OECD's 30 members includes
reviews of individual country environmental performance and OECD-
generated data and analysis.
World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD)
OIA led EPA's participation at the WSSD, which was
held in August-September 2002 in Johannesburg, South
Africa. Marking the ten-year anniversary of the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Johannesburg
meeting presented governments, United Nations agencies,
multilateral financial institutions, NGOs, and civil
society the opportunity to reinvigorate their commitment
to sustainable development. Approximately 60,000people
from more than 180 nations attended WSSD.
Office of International Affairs
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United Nations Environment Program (UNEP): UNEP serves as the
focal point for environmental issues within the United Nations and
acts as the Secretariat for many multilateral environmental agreements,
including the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer and the Basel Convention on the Trans-boundary Movement
of Hazardous Waste. OIA coordinates EPA activities in connection
with UNEP and its Governing Council, the 30-nation body providing
oversight and guidance to the organization. Among the initiatives that
OIA supports is the UNEP global assessment of mercury.
Trade, Investment and Finance Programs
EPA is committed to encouraging the development of environmentally-
sound international policy. In part, EPA pursues this goal by
advancing environmental objectives in international trade agreements,
investment projects, and financial ventures. In so doing, EPA supports
the realization of two of the three critical elements of sustainable
development: environmental and economic progress.
Trade and Environment Policy: Recognizing that the relationship
between trade and environmental policy is complex, OIA helps ensure
that trade agreements balance both economic and environmental
interests. OIA encourages the development of agreements that:
1) encourage high levels of environmental protection; 2) include
commitments to effective enforcement of environmental laws and
regulations; 3) provide capacity building in response to relevant
environmental needs and issues in the developing world; and, 4) do not
undercut domestic health, safety and environmental measures.
OIA promoted the development of Executive Order 13141, which
mandated that environmental reviews of trade agreements take place
and that these reviews follow specific guidelines. OIA also actively
contributes to the implementation of this executive order and is
preparing to offer training on the development of environmental reviews
of trade agreements to key countries. The Office plays a lead role in
negotiating the environmental provisions of a number of bilateral and
regional trade agreements (e.g., with Jordan, Chile, Singapore and
Central America, among others).
Environmental Finance and Investment: OIA focuses on two areas
of environmental finance: 1) eliminating financing gaps for needed
environmental health and ecosystem protection, and 2) discouraging
environmentally-damaging investment. OIA consults with the
Department of Treasury on environmental aspects of multilateral
development policies and projects, promotes greater linkages among
the environment, trade, and investment activities of the OECD and
the CEC, and provides analytical support for EPA engagement in
investment-related trade policy.
fo- .T'C Environment
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Trans-Boundary Pollution Programs
The migration of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs), Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs), and potent neurotoxins like mercury has
become a growing problem globally. Recent estimates indicate that as
much ot 40% of the mercury polluting the United States originates from
outside the country. Researchers have also found POPs in formerly
pristine Arctic regions. To help check the damage from these pollutants
and to limit future emissions, OIA is working on several major health
survey, monitoring, and information exchange programs:
POPs/PBT: OIA coordinates EPA's work with other countries on
research, capacity-building, and policy formulation projects designed
to reduce and eliminate long-range trans-boundary transport and
deposition of POPs and PBTs. Successes in this area include the
development of a dioxin protocol for Russia and the completion of
inventories of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for both Russia and the
Caribbean region. OIA is working through the Arctic Council to forge
technical solutions to PCB contamination in the former Soviet Union.
Mercury (Hg): Through collaboration with other countries on research,
capacity building, and policy formulation, OIA strives to improve
understanding and control of the global circulation of mercury, a
neurotoxin capable of causing severe neurological damage in developing
fetuses and mild tremors and emotional disturbances in exposed adults.
OIA has worked with the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) to conduct a global mercury assessment, which has helped spur
international mercury control efforts.
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Children's Health Programs
According to a 2001 report from the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), acute respiratory infections, diarrheal disease, and malaria
cause approximately 40% of the deaths of children under the age of rive.
These top three killers ot children are closely linked with environmental
factors.
Protecting the health of children from environmental risks is a priority
tor OIA and an underlying theme for many of the Office's activities.
Making Sound Policy: Unanimously adopted by the G8 Environment
Ministers in Miami in 1997, the Declaration of the Environment Leaders
of the Eight on Children's Environmental Health first focused international
attention on, and committed the world's leading economies to, the
protection of children from environmental risks. Today, children's
environmental health is central to the international environmental policy
dialogue.
Building Partnerships: OIA's children's environmental health program
depends on collaboration among EPA, government, and non-
government partners. In 2002, for example, the EPA Administrator
and the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization
(WHO) recognized years of successful collaboration and signed a new
Memorandum ot Understanding that affirms a continued partnership
in protecting children and families from environmental risks. Also in
2002, the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation
(CEC) approved the Cooperative Agenda for Children's Health and
Environment in North America, and, in 2003, EPA and the Pan-American
Health Organization (PAHO) expanded collaborative work to include a
greater emphasis on the protection ot children's health.
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Improving Information: Policy makers and families need better
environmental health information to guide decisions. OIA is working
with EPA Offices, federal agencies, multi-lateral organizations, nations,
and NGOs to improve children's environmental health information.
OIA priorities are children's environmental health indicators, national-
level assessments of children's environmental health risks, broadly
accepted methods for economic valuation, and international collaboration
on major research endeavors.
TakinpAction: OIA and other EPA offices have responded to
commitments made under the Declaration of the Environment Leaders of
the Eight on Children's Environmental Health. Drinking water programs
in Central America and Africa reduce serious health outcomes from
diarrheal disease. In Asia and Europe, Environmental Tobacco Smoke
programs and ambient air pollution programs address key environmental
causes of childhood asthma and respiratory illness. Lead phase-
out programs in Asia and Africa protect children from permanent
neurological damage from lead poisoning.
CONCLUSION
Pollution does not recognize political boundaries. Increasingly, EPA
will need to rely on international outreach and cooperation to protect
human health and the environment in the United States. Continued
cooperation with other U.S. government agencies, key partner countries,
and international organizations will assist the Agency in meeting its
domestic goals.
Office of International Affairs
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Contact
Office of International Affairs
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (2610-R)
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 202-564-6600
Fax: 202-565-2408
-internetcomments@epa.gov
Web: http://www.epa.gov/international
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