2012 CEC Council Session (and workshop): Community and Ecosystem Resilience in North America

North America’s environment ministers to hear from public at CEC Council Session in New Orleans

Community groups & experts from across the continent to share ideas on community, ecosystem resilience

Montreal, June 27, 2012 - On July 11, universities and community leaders from across North America will be engaged in a town hall with the three environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States for the 2012 Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Council Session: Community and Ecosystem Resilience in North America. This town hall format is a first for the CEC council meeting, and it will be webcast live.

US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will host Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent and Mexico’s Environment Secretary Juan Elvira Quesada in her hometown, New Orleans, to hear how citizens are collaboratively protecting, sustaining and restoring the health of people, communities and ecosystems.

The three ministers will be joined by participants that will include both the mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Iqaluit, Nunavut; public health professionals from Alaska and Lake Chapala, Mexico; and conservationists from Culiacan, Mexico and Saskatchewan, Canada. Local NGOs and universities will also be present.

The public meeting on July 11 will begin at 1:45 p.m. Media are also invited to attend a welcoming reception with the ministers on Tuesday, July 10 at 7 p.m.

Also, the North American Environment Fair on July 11, prior to the public session, is a chance to meet with some of the community groups that have been chosen as North American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) grant recipients.  These 19 community projects in three countries received grants totaling $1.4 million to support innovative and practical solutions to environmental problems.

Media are equally encouraged to take part in the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) two-day workshop on Resilient Communities in North America prior to the Council Session on July 9 and 10. The workshop is open to the public. Participants will hear from North American experts like Canadian urban planner Craig Applegath, founder of www.resilientcity.org, Mexico’s Fernando Aragón, an international consultant on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and policy, and Madeleine Redfern, mayor of Iqaluit. The workshop will culminate in a presentation of recommendations to the ministers in a document that will be made publicly available.

For the full list of speakers and events for Council 2012, click here. Updates to the agenda are being made often so be sure to check back.

Media must register online at www.cec.org/council2012.

If you can’t make it in person, watch the CEC live webcast starting at 1:45 p.m. on July 11. Participate by asking questions on our liveblog or Facebook, or by joining the conversation on Twitter @CECWeb using the hashtags #communities and #CEC12.

What: Nineteenth regular session of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Council