Guanajuato State and Chamber Cooperate to Promote Environment

DENVER--Guanajuato and U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce officials June 12 signed an agreement to help disemmenate state environmental laws through the Chamber's ACCESS-MEXICO project.

Biol. Raul Enrique Arriaga, director general of Guanajuato's Ecology Institute, and Chamber President Albert C. Zapanta concluded the agreement following a two-day conference in Denver to elicit public- and private-sector input for the ACCESS-MEXICO project and to promote the project to potential users.

ACCESS-MEXICO is a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide affordable, bilingual electronic access to Mexico's current federal, state and municipal environmental laws, regulations and technical standards.

"The cooperation of Mexico's federal, state and municipal governments is essential to this project," Zapanta said. "Guanajuato's readiness to join the program is an indication of Mexico's strong concern for the environment. And the state's action enhances the close relationship the Chamber enjoys with Mexico's environmental ministry and several other states. I commend Biol. Arriaga for acting quickly and cooperating so closely with our organization."

More than 60 businessmen and government officials participated in the conference, hosted by the Chamber's Rocky Mountain Chapter, headquartered in Denver.

"Colorado has a strong base of internationally oriented environmental companies," said Gil Cisneros, chapter executive director. "We are pleased to be able to bring them together in support of such an important project¾a project that will ultimately help them gain a position in Mexico's market and that will help Mexico's environment."

The U.S. Commerce Department, through Congressional action, awarded a grant to the Chamber to carry out a project that will improve the business community's access to Mexico's federal, state, and muncipal environmental laws, regulations and technical standards. The final product will create a reliable and self-maintaining system of electronic access to current and evolving Mexican laws in English and Spanish.

"The project is a cooperative effort between the Chamber and SEMARNAP [Mexico's Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries], made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 1997," said Valerie Gray, the project's technical manager.

A bilateral team is cooperating to identify, analyze and collect federal, state and municipal data, assess business and government needs, and design a prototype database.

The Chamber is working closely with its binational business network to ensure the system meets the needs of the trade community, and has invited the academic community of both countries to lend its expertise.

New Mexico State University, a 4-year state university located near the U.S.-Mexico border, is providing technical support to develop ACCESS-MEXICO. "The university has extensive expertise and resources to support the project, including electronic and computer hardware facilities, and binational and bilingual faculty, staff and students," said Erin Ross, project coordinator for NMSU.

Priorities for the data base and system design will be established through consultation among team members, Commerce Department representatives and with input from a bilingual public-private sector advisory committee representing users of this data. Demonstration of a prototype of the electronic system capabilities is planned in 1998.

The grant funding for this project is financed in its entirety by the U.S. Commerce Department, International Trade Administration.