U.S.-Mexico Border Environmental Program: Bilateral Cooperation and Implementation Framework

Key Chapter Title List

1. Mission Statement
2. Guiding Principles
3. Project Background
4. Strategic Goals and Specific Tasks
5. Organizational Structure
6. Accountability and Transparency
7. List of Acronyms
8. Contact Information
9. Introduction
10. Air Pollutant Reduction Goals
11. Water Quality Improvement Goals
12. Joint Preparedness and Response Goals for Hazardous Environmental Emergencies

Document Introduction

The U.S.-Mexico border, as a vital geographic and economic link connecting the two nations, stretches nearly 2,000 miles, covering a 3,100-kilometer cross-border region. It supports the survival and development needs of 15.2 million people while facing complex challenges such as cross-border environmental pollution, insufficient infrastructure, and public health risks. Building on the historical cooperation foundation of the 1983 La Paz Agreement, the United States and Mexico jointly launched the "Border 2025" environmental program as a follow-up to the 2020 project. It aims to achieve long-term protection of the environment and public health in the border region through five years (2021-2025) of bilateral collaboration.

This program, with sustainable development as its core principle, establishes four strategic pillars: reducing air pollution, improving water quality, advancing sustainable materials and waste management and clean site development, and strengthening joint preparedness and response for hazardous environmental emergencies. Under each strategic goal, specific and quantifiable implementation tasks are set, covering multiple dimensions such as monitoring network construction, data sharing, infrastructure upgrades, and policy coordination, forming a complete implementation system of "goal-task-indicator."

The program's organizational structure reflects the characteristics of multi-level collaborative governance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) serve as National Coordinators. Under them are Policy Work Groups, Regional Coordinators, and Task Groups, covering four major cross-border regions such as California-Baja California and Arizona-Sonora. This ensures comprehensive participation from federal, state, and local governments, as well as tribal and indigenous communities. This dual-track model of "top-down policy guidance + bottom-up community participation" represents an inheritance and optimization of past project cooperation experiences like IBEP and Border XXI.

Regarding implementation safeguards, the program has established a comprehensive accountability and transparency mechanism. Through biennial action plans, mid-term progress reports, and final outcome reports, it ensures project progress is trackable and evaluable. Simultaneously, through bilingual public meetings, online platform disclosures, stakeholder participation mechanisms, and other forms, it safeguards the public's right to know and participate, providing a foundation for democratic oversight in cross-border environmental governance.

As the latest practice in U.S.-Mexico bilateral environmental cooperation, this program not only focuses on current prominent environmental issues but also emphasizes the research, development, and application of climate-friendly solutions. It highlights environmental justice and the protection of vulnerable populations, providing a cooperative paradigm for cross-border regional sustainable development that is both practical and forward-looking. The experiences and challenges encountered during its implementation also offer important references for global cross-border environmental governance.