WASHINGTON, February, 16,
2012 - The Commission for Environmental
Cooperation (CEC) council members including U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced the
winners of more than $1.3 million of grants under the CEC's North
American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA)
program.
The grants will support community efforts to promote healthy
communities and ecosystems, encourage activities that address
climate change through the transition to a low carbon economy, and
advance innovative projects that could assist in greening the
economies of the three countries.
Eighteen projects were chosen from 500 proposals received last
year as part of a new initiative announced at the CEC Council's
meeting held in Montreal. The successful projects span the
eco-regions of North America and support environmental action at
the community level from the sub-arctic tundra, to the grasslands
of the Great Plains, to the tropical forests of Mexico.
Projects address issues ranging from the effects of climate
change on Woodland Caribou and the Athabaskan Peoples in Canada, to
citizen-powered air quality testing in Louisiana, and protecting
the health of women and children through the adoption of better
clean energy cook stoves in Mexico.
The 18 projects were selected based on their significance for
addressing community and North American environmental issues, their
innovation and technical or scientific approaches, their emphasis
on promoting partnerships and demonstration of a plan to produce
clear and tangible results.
The projects represent an extremely broad base of hands-on
groups and organizations, representing tribal nations, indigenous
peoples, community organizations, environmental groups, and
academic institutions.
The CEC council members include the environment ministers of the
three NAFTA countries: Canada's Environment Minister Peter Kent,
Mexico's Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources Juan
Elvira Quesada and US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Lisa P. Jackson.
A complete list of grantees: http://www.cec.org/napeca