United States
Environmental Protection
i Agency
through international collaboration
Office of International Affairs
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human health
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The Environmental Protection Agency is a world-renowned
environment organization with over three decades of experience
in addressing domestic public health and environmental
challenges. Since its inception, EPA has recognized that domestic action
alone is not enough to fully address environmental concerns. Unless
economic growth is managed in a sustainable way, increasing global
industrial activity can have potentially negative effects on human health
and the environment. It is in the interest of the United States and its
international partners to share environmental management practices and
to achieve the mutual goal of protecting the global commons.
Bilateral and multilateral partnerships dedicated to solving environmental
problems are cornerstones for successful international cooperation.
EPA presently participates with over 60 countries in numerous kinds
of partnerships, which are a hallmark of our international programs.
International partnerships that advance human health and environmental
protection are an effective part of a larger U S. strategy for promoting
sustainable development, democracy-building, and environmental
stewardship.
For example, through leadership and partnership in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States
supports environmental performance reviews of OECD member and
non-member countries. These reviews provide information access for
diverse stakeholders, transparency in environmental decision-making,
and the sharing of other good governance best practices. As a result,
countries are continually challenged to improve their commitment to
sustainable development and sound environmental governance. Better
governance not only yields a cleaner environment, but also facilitates
global economic growth by helping establish improved and more
consistent environmental standards for industrial performance.
EPA's Office of International Affairs (OIA) plays a crucial role in
advancing the United States' international environmental priorities. This
publication highlights some of our programs and provides insight into
how we work.
We welcome your interest.
Sincerely,
Judith E. Ayres
Assistant Administrator
environmental results
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International Collaboration for
Environmental Results
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, land, and health. The domestic successes
of the EPA's public health and environmental protection programs—
including the Acid Rain Program, the Toxic Release Inventory, and
countless initiatives co-sponsored by citizens, businesses, and state, local,
and tribal governments—have been particularly significant. In the last
35 years, for example, air pollution has decreased by over 50 percent in
the United States, even as our gross domestic product has more than
doubled.
Addressing issues at home is only part of the environmental equation, for
we live in a global environment made up of interdependent ecosystems
and pollution that can cross political boundaries. The water quality
of a lake here in the United States is affected not only by pollutants
from neighboring communities, industries, and farms, but also by
pollutants emitted thousands of miles away. Similarly, the depletion of
natural resources in one nation can have environmental and economic
ramifications in many other countries.
OIA helps safeguard the health and environmental safety of individuals
at home by leading the EPA's efforts to address global environmental
issues. Working with the experts from EPA's program and regional
offices, other government agencies, and other nations and international
organizations, OIA identifies environmental issues of mutual concern
and helps implement technical and policy options to address them
internationally.
Through international cooperation and collaboration, OIA leverages
financial and human resources for the greater environmental good. The
key to sustaining and enhancing the environmental progress made, both
domestically and internationally, are the combined successful efforts of
national, tribal, state and local governments, international organizations,
nations, the private sector and concerned citizens.
OIA addresses a wide-range of international environmental issues to:
• Reduce Air Pollution
• Improve Water Quality
• Protect the Marine Environment
• Reduce Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
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Reduce Air Pollution
Despite recent improvements, poor air quality is still a major concern
worldwide. In developing countries, air pollution continues to
worsen in most large cities, a situation driven by population growth,
industrialization and increased vehicle use. The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 1.4 billion urban
residents around the world breathe air with pollutant levels exceeding the
WHO air quality guidelines. Acording to the WHO, poor air quality
leads to 800,000 premature deaths a year.
As the U.S. federal agency responsible for the management of national air
quality programs, the EPA has a long history of working with partners in
the United States and abroad to address a range of air quality concerns.
Reducing international sources of air pollutants is a top EPA priority, as it
will be increasingly difficult for EPA to achieve its domestic environmental
objectives without international environmental collaboration.
The EPA is working with other nations and through multilateral
organizations to reduce air pollution at its source. Cooperative programs
with Mexico and Canada are especially important since they help control
much of the pollution that degrades environmental quality throughout
North America. In addition, EPA's work in Central America, Asia, and
Africa is improving our understanding of air pollution's sources, transport,
and effects. EPA's cooperation with the Pan-American Health Organization
(PAHO), for example, led
to an assessment of the
health effects of ambient air
pollution in Latin America
and the Caribbean, which
in turn prompted follow-up
health work in the region.
approach
Partnerships: Partnership for Cl
Fuels and Vehicles —A public-pri\
partnership launched at the 2002 WorK
Summit on Sustainable Development
( WSSD) with the goal of reducing
vehicular air pollution in developing
countries through the promotion of
fuels and vehicles. This partnership
s on the reduction of sulfur in fuels
and the elimination of le
:>i gasoline
All countries of sub-Saharan Africa
eliminated lead in gasoline at the end
of 2005, reducing lead exposure for
on people.
result
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r /
Improve Water Quality
Worldwide, more than one billion people lack access to potable water,
and more than two billion do not have adequate sanitation. As a result,
over three billion people each year suffer from water-related diseases
that can be fatal (mostly children under age five). According to WHO,
every year more than 1.8 million people die of diarrheal diseases such
as cholera. In the United States the problem is concentrated along the
U.S.-Mexico border, where incidences of Hepatitis A and Shigellosis are
three times higher than anywhere else in the country.
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, the United
States government committed to improving human health by expanding
access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Having developed
extensive expertise through its domestic programs, EPA is now equipped
to help solve these problems abroad.
Specifically, EPA is drawing on its expertise to focus on programs that
provide clean drinking water and improved sanitation around the world.
To this end, EPA has collaborated with PAHO, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency
for International Development, and over a dozen other countries to
establish sustainable microfinance cooperatives. In addition, the agency
has cooperated with a variety of partners in the development of model
wastewater regulations. Currently, EPA is working with the WHO to
demonstrate the use of
Water Safety Plans that
assess and rehabilitate
water systems and improve
drinking water quality
surveillance.
approach
Training: In partnership with PAHO
and the CDC, EPA will conduct
demonstration projects in India, Latin
America, and the Caribbean to teach
the skills necessary for an adequate
assessment of water delivery systems
to better target improvements.
Improved drinking water, better
health, and empowered communities
capable of making cost-effective
changes to their water systems.
result
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Protect the Marine Environment
The world's coastal waters and oceans are deteriorating due to increasing
coastal development, pollution from ships, and habitat destruction.
Most pronounced in near-coastal and estuarine regions, the degradation
of coastal and oceanic waters is significant and both developed and
developing countries contribute to the problem.
EPA is working to reduce marine degradation in different ways.
Globally, EPA works with the International Maritime Organization
to develop and implement legal standards that address vessel source
pollution and ocean dumping. EPA has also focused on reducing
land-based sources of marine pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and
the wider Caribbean region through implementation of the Land-
Based Sources Protocol. This protocol was concluded in 1999 through
the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). Additionally, EPA will pursue the application
of efficient watershed management and wastewater treatment practices
worldwide, as well as low-impact development. Other areas of emphasis
include invasive species, ocean dumping, the protection of coral reefs, and
the monitoring of harmful algal blooms.
approach
Policy Development: Global Ban on
Tributyltin — The EPA spearheaded
an international agreement on the use
of tributyltin (TBT) on ships that has
decreased the global use of chemical
anti-foulants.
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Reduce Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
Lacking the capacity to properly manage toxic chemicals, many
developing countries cannot reap the benefits these substances
could provide in agriculture, health care, manufacturing, and other
sectors. Improper management and disposal of these chemicals
poses a threat to local and global environments. Once released into
the environment, many of these substances can travel long distances
and affect ecosystems and human populations far from the point of
use or disposal. In addition, toxic chemicals can accumulate in the
environment and pose long-term threats to human health.
To reduce the use and release of persistent bio-accumulative toxic
substances (PBTs) like mercury and Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs), EPA provides technical assistance and capacity building to
developing countries. EPA also works closely with many multilateral
organizations to address the threats posed by PBTs and to reduce the
risks associated with the manufacturing, storage, and disposal of toxic
chemicals. For instance, EPA is a key player in UNEP's Mercury
Partnerships, which seek to reduce the use of mercury in key sectors
and products worldwide.
POPs are targeted under the Stockholm Convention, an international
treaty that addresses the dangers of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
DDT, and several obsolete pesticides like toxaphene, in addition
to dioxins and furans.
Although most developed
nations, including the
United States, have taken
strong action to control
POPs, a great number of
developing nations only
recently have begun to
restrict the production,
use, and release of these
substances.
approach
Technical Cooperation: The EPA has
worked with Arctic Council countries on
the environmentally safe management
of Russian Soviet-era stocks of obsolete
and prohibited pesticides.
Since 2003,100 metric tonnes of
obsolete and prohibited pesticides
(making up 10 percent of Russia's
stockpile) have been repackaged,
illy analyzed, re-labeled and
°"fely stored.
result
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US-CANADA BORDER
Worked to reduce water pollution
discharges of toxics into shared
binational watersheds along border of
both lower 48 States and US/Alaska
border with Canada.
RUSSIA
Reduced or avoided emissions of
235,000 tonnes of conventional air
pollutants and 7.9 Million tonnes of CO2
in Russia and Ukraine.
CHINA
Helping China to reduce mercury emissions
from power plants and products, reduce
particulate matter from diesel engine
emissions in Beijing and from indoor air in
Yunan, reduce dioxin emissions from cement
kilns in Xinjiang, clean up sites contaminated
by PCBs in Liaoning, and protect sources of
drinking water in Tianjin.
EUROPE
Explored adaptation of
European approaches to
streamlined environmental
regulation to improve
environmental performance,
increase economic
efficiency in the United
States.
US-MEXICO BORDER
Through the Border 2012
program connected 1.5 million
people to safe drinking water
and wastewater treatment in
10 border states and cleaned
up more than 1 million scrap
tires from the border.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Trained over 100
environmental officials
on principles of
effective environmental
permitting, inspection,
and enforcement,
increasing regional
capacity to
implement improved
environmental
standards.
SOUTH AMERICA
Provided financial and technical
support to Chile for the design of
a Pollutant Release and Transfer
Register (PRTR) which tracks
release and transfer of potentially
harmful chemicals.
AFRICA
Worked to phase out lead in
gasoline in Sub-Saharan
African countries, thereby
protecting over 750 million people
INDIA
Worked to reduce harmful
air pollution for 2.5 million
residents through capacity
building for emissions
inventory and improved air
quality management.
GLOBAL INITIATIVES
Mercury
Global Mercury Partnerships
Charter Member joining multi-sector
partners to reduce releases of mercury
from chlor-alkali facilities, reduce
mercury in products, and reduce mercury
use in artisanal gold mining
Environmental Health
WSSD Global Children's Environmental
Health Indicators Partnership is working
within the Commission for Environmental
Cooperation to develop the first regional
children's environmental health indicators
report for North America addressing the
specific needs of children who are at
greatest risk from environmental health
hazards
Air Quality
Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles
joined with 75 countries to eliminate lead
in gasoline, reduce sulfur In fuels, and
introduce clean vehicle technologies
worldwide
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IK
IA employs avariety
of approaches to
reduce air pollution,
improve water quality, protect the
marine environment, and reduce
exposure to toxic chemicals. Our
"cross-cutting"programs are multi-
faceted and play an important role
in achieving OIA's mission.
«r
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cross-cutting programs
Trade and the Environment
Protecting human health and the environment are key to sustainable
economic development. EPA participates in a variety of fora to establish
and implement environment-related trade provisions. EPA is involved
in the negotiation of new free trade agreements, and in implementing
existing agreements, such as the environmental provisions under the
North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
New Free Trade Agreements
Working with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to
develop, negotiate, and implement environment-related provisions in
all new free trade agreements, EPA helps the U.S. meet its obligations
under the Trade Act of 2002. EPA
also collaborates with USTR and the
President's Council on Environmental
Quality to analyze the environmental
impacts of new trade agreements, as
required under an executive order of
the President. In addition, EPA works
with the U.S. State Department to help
countries address potential environmental
impacts of increased trade. EPA promotes
sustainable development and helps to build the capacity of U S. trading
partners to develop, implement, and enforce sound environmental
standards.
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a trade pact
established between Canada, Mexico and the United States in 1992.
EPA partners with a variety of the important
organizations set up through the NAFTA
process to address environmental issues in
the region. The North American Agreement
on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC)
is an environmental side-agreement to
NAFTA that complements the NAFTA
environmental provisions and which established the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to address regional environmental
concerns.
EPA is the U.S. government lead agency for work with the CEC.
Since its establishment in 1994, the CEC has helped intensify regional
environmental cooperation and has encouraged accountability and
transparency across North America's shared borders. It has also promoted
effective environmental law enforcement across the region. CEC has
sponsored trilateral action to address problems of common concern, such
as POPs and threats to biodiversity. CEC has facilitated the phase-out of
DDT in North America and has contributed to the creation of the first
national air emissions inventory for Mexico. Mexico's air inventory will
contribute to developing a comprehensive view of North American air
emissions.
NAFTA also enabled the creation of the North American Development
Bank (NADB) and its sister institution, the Border Environment
Cooperation Commission (BECC). A BECC-NADB Agreement
office of international
affairs
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cross-cutting programs
has created an environmental infrastructure program that empowers
communities on the U.S.-Mexico border to assess their environmental
infrastructure needs while incorporating a mix of federal, state, local,
and private-sector funding to execute affordable and self-sustaining
environmental infrastructure projects. By the end of 2005, the Board of
Directors had approved over $700 million in financing for environmental
infrastructure projects, such as water treatment and sanitation projects.
As a member of the Board, the EPA helps to ensure environmental
quality in projects developed, certified, funded, and constructed by the
BECC and NADB.
Naturales — SEMARNAT), state and local governments, the private
sector, and non-governmental organizations to address environmental
risks along the border. Together the EPA and SEMARNAT developed
the Border 2012 Program—in partnership with the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, the Mexican Secretariat of Health and
other federal agencies, as well as ten U S. and Mexican border states and
U.S. tribal governments. Signed on April 3,2003, the ten-year Border
2012 Program emphasizes a bottom-up, regional approach, anticipating
that local decision making, priority setting, and project implementation
are the best ways to address environmental issues in the border region.
Bilateral Programs
EPA often works directly with specific countries through bilateral
programs to achieve environmental goals. Our key partner countries
include Mexico, Canada, China, and India, among others.
U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program
Working together under the 1983 La Paz Agreement, the United States
and Mexico have made enormous progress in protecting and improving
the health and environmental conditions along the border region. EPA
coordinates and
collaborates with
Mexico's Ministry
of Environment and
Natural Resources
(Secretaria de Medio
Ambiente y Recursos
office of international
affairs
U.S.-Canada Environmental Cooperation
Thanks to cooperation with Canada dating back to the Boundary Waters
Treaty of 1909, there have been significant environmental gains along
the world's longest shared border, particularly in the fight against water
and air pollution. EPA and Environment Canada lead efforts to protect
and improve the water quality of shared watershed ecosystems such as
the Great Lakes. Close cooperation under the U.S.-Canada Air Quality
Agreement, for
example, reduced
sulfur dioxide
pollution and other
priority pollutants.
Additional
agreements address
major issues such
as trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, scientific research
and technical cooperation, and joint preparedness for response to
environmental emergencies along the U.S.-Canada border.
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cross-cutting programs
Cooperation with China
Many of EPA's activities in China are conducted under the framework
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China's State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).The MOU
establishes a Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation that
met for the first time in 2005 and approved strategies for cooperation
on water quality management, hazardous waste management, and the
management of POPs and
other toxic substances.
EPA also cooperates with
the Ministry of Science and
Technology on energy sector
projects, with the National
Development and Reform
Commission on climate
change and energy efficiency,
and with the Ministry of
Agriculture on pesticides.
Most recently, EPA has begun
to cooperate with the Ministry
of Water Resources on water management issues, especially wetlands and
water quality.
CrififcJEAB
Cooperation with India
EPA is cooperating with India under a MOU signed between the EPA
and India's Ministry of Environment and Forests. The MOU outlines
four areas of bilateral cooperation in environmental protection: air
quality management; water
quality management;
management of toxic and
hazardous materials; and
environmental governance.
EPA also has a cooperative
agreement with India's
National Environmental
Engineering Institute to support capacity building and demonstration
projects under the MOU.
EPA is working with the city of Pune to demonstrate the application
of science-based urban air quality management, which includes air
monitoring, emission inventory, air modeling, health impacts assessment,
and control strategy development. Demonstration work on diesel retrofit
technology and other efforts are beginning to improve air quality for the
city's three million residents.
EPA also collaborates with the WHO and other institutions to improve
water quality management. This effort includes a multi-pronged approach
of strengthening the capacity of water quality testing laboratories
for monitoring and surveillance, improving source water protection,
optimizing water treatment plant performance, and correcting leaks and
sewerage contamination of distribution systems. EPA works with Indian
office of international
affairs
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cross-cutting programs
environmental regulators at the central and state government levels to
improve environmental compliance and enforcement strategies.
Multilateral Organizations and
Partnerships
EPA collaborates with a wide variety of multilateral organizations and
through the United Nations and other multi-lateral programs to protect
human health and the environment. As EPA seeks to manage emerging
environmental threats and create successful partnerships to tackle old
problems in new ways, these organizations and programs provide a
forum for encouraging collective actions for common solutions. Working
through multilateral organizations and programs allows EPA to leverage
its resources and to respond quickly to emerging threats by offering a
structured framework through which EPA can reach critical stakeholders.
Examples of our multi-lateral collaborations include:
World Conservation Union
Invasive species are a cause of biodiversity loss. They also cause direct
economic losses and management costs to commercial and recreational
interests. EPA is working with the World Conservation Union to better
identify and develop techniques
that reduce or eliminate the risks
of new introductions of invasive
species into U.S. waters.
Asia-Pacific Partnership
EPA is working with Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and the
private sector through the Asia Pacific Partnership, launched in January
2006, to expand investment and trade in cleaner energy technologies,
goods, and services in key market sectors. As part of this initiative,
governments agreed to a workplan that established eight public-private
task forces: (1) cleaner use of fossil energy; (2) renewable energy and
distributed generation; (3) power generation and transmission; (4)
steel; (5) aluminum; (6) cement; (7) coal mining; and (8) buildings and
appliances.
EPA has a leadership role for the U.S. in four task forces: clean fossil
energy; cement; aluminum; and buildings & appliances. The agency is
also actively involved in the work of several other task forces as well as
in other cross-cutting areas under development, such as transportation.
The six partner countries represent about half of the world's economy,
population and energy use, and they produce about 65% of the world's
coal, 48% of the world's steel, 35% of the world's aluminum, and 61% of
the world's cement.
office of international
affairs
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cross-cutting programs
International Environmental
Justice
EPA is committed
to environmental
justice for all people,
regardless of race,
color, national origin,
or income. The
Agency recognizes
that minority and
low-income communities may often be exposed disproportionately
to environmental risks, and works to help protect these communities
at home and abroad from adverse human health and environmental
impacts. Promoting environmental justice means not only working to
protect human health and the environment for everyone, but also helping
to ensure that all people are treated fairly and are given the opportunity
to participate meaningfully in the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
CredifcJEAB
office of international
affairs
and reflect the diversity of the global
community. Our multi-disciplinary
80-person staff is led by an Assistant
Administrator appointed by the
President and confirmed by the U.S.
Senate. OIA employees come from a
wide variety of backgrounds and draw
on many different kinds of academic
training and international professional
experience. This multi-cultural and
the skills and talents of the broader
EPA community through cooperation
with key program offices and support
from a network of International
Regional Coordinators. OIAs strong
international engagement yields
measurable environmental benefits.
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Mail code 2610R
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone Number: 202-564-6600
EPA Office of7 —--- -1 *
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