 Mark
Van Putten, National Wildlife Federation President, was among
the environmental and human rights leaders who met in Washington,
DC, Aug. 24 with Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox, prior to
his discussions with President Clinton. Rodolfo Ogarrio, a member
of NWF volunteer Board of Directors, also attended as part of
President-elect Fox's delegation. During the 90-minute meeting,
Van Putten surveyed the range of environmental issues that present
opportunities for progress in US-Mexican relations.
 resident-elect Vicente Fox's decision to meet with
environmental and human rights leaders in Washington in advance
of his discussions with President Clinton is indicative of the
fresh political winds blowing north from Mexico.
The
signal from this meeting is that the new government in Mexico
is prepared for a new and more open relationship with its neighbors.
The initiative
should be welcomed. The environment presents a ripe field in
which to test the potential of Fox's proposals.
From the skyways
that Monarch butterflies and scores of migratory bird species
have followed for millennia, to an atmosphere that is warming
from our common contributions of greenhouse gases, we already
share an environment that by its very nature is borderless. The
aquifers quickly being drained to quench our common thirst are
not defined by political boundaries. The sea turtles that roam
our coastlines are but one imperiled form of wildlife for which
we have joint responsibility.
Several opportunities
for US-Mexican engagement over the environment are immediately
at hand, and could act as a proving ground for Fox's vision of
openness and a new partnership.
On trade,
both nations can energize the institutions created by the North
American Free Trade Agreement to address a host of shared environmental
problems. In conservation, a first step is simply to recognize
the borderless reality of watersheds, aquifers and ecosystems
and to deal with them cooperatively on that basis.
Additional
specific steps can be taken. All six sea turtle species that
migrate within US and Mexican waters are imperiled. Kemp's Ridleys
are widely considered to be the most endangered sea turtle on
earth.
Mexico is
a leader in promoting the Inter-American Convention for the Protection
and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Senate ratification of the agreement
before Congress adjourns in October will be a clear signal endorsing
cooperative approaches to cross-border environmental issues.
This agreement,
and a similar one that Mexico has also joined protecting dolphins,
are windows to the future in dealing with shared environmental
concerns that transcend our borders. They emphasize cooperation.
They adjust international trade practices (shrimp and tuna fishing
that respectively kill sea turtles and dolphins) by accepting
the enforcement of constraints for legitimate environmental protections.
A less well-known
example involves the fate of the black-footed ferret that, in
1987, was at the brink of extinction when the last remaining
18 animals were withdrawn from the wild in an emergency effort
to revive the species in a captive breeding program. Since then,
ferrets have regained only the most tenuous hold on landscapes
where they have been reintroduced in this country.
In fact, one
of the largest remaining suitable habitats for black-footed ferrets
in North America is in northwestern Mexico, in Chihuahua. If
Fox's government and the United States work together, a black-footed
ferret recovery program could begin there, one that could serve
as a model for cross-border cooperation in wildlife conservation.
The environment
is a natural place to see President-elect Fox's vision of a borderless
future become a reality, because it is common ground we share
without borders. It is within our joint capacities to move forward
on this front now, without delay. Fox has made an auspicious
opening by making the environment a priority concern of his soon-to-be
inaugurated government, and by promising policies based on inclusion,
consensus and open dialogue. The United States should greet his
initiative with the openness of neighbors who share a common
future. 
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