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The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

International Organizations

  • Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Montreal, Canada – In support of the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States, the CEC addresses regional environmental concerns, helps prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and promote effective enforcement of environmental law. Website: http://www.cec.org/

  • European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, Denmark – An agency of the European Union, EEA provides independent information on the environment, providing information for developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy throughout the Union. Website: http://www.eea.europa.eu/

  • Global Environment Facility (GEF), Washington, D.C. – The primary mission of GEF isto assist in protecting the global environment, and promoting environmentally sustainable development. The GEF International Waters Focal Area helps countries work together to collectively manage their transboundary surface water basins, groundwater basins, and coastal and marine systems in order to share their benefits. Website: http://www.thegef.org

  • Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS/Water), UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya – The goal of GEMS/Water is to support global, regional, and national environmental assessment and reporting processes on the state and trends of water resources by providing access to quality-assured data and information on water quality in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Website: http://www.unep.org/gemswater

  • International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), El Paso, Texas, USA –The IBWC mission is to provide binational solutions to issues arising from application of U.S. – Mexico treaties regarding boundary demarcation, national ownership of waters, sanitation, water quality and flood control in their common border region. Website: https://www.ibwc.gov/home.html

  • International Joint Commission (IJC), Washington, D.C. – Many rivers and some of the largest lakes in the world lie along, or flow across, the border between the United States and Canada. The IJC assists governments in finding solutions to problems in these waters, consistent with the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Website: http://www.ijc.org/en/home/main_accueil.htm

  • International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC), Shiga Prefecture, Otsu, Japan – ILEC's mission is to advance international cooperation for conservation of lake environments and promote environmentally sound management of world lakes through encouraging investigations and research on rational and suitable methods for harmony between environmental management and sustainable development, and scientific knowledge on lake environments internationally. Website: http://www.ilec.or.jp

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland – The primary mission of the convention is conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution toward achieving sustainable development throughout the world. Website: http://www.ramsar.org

  • Organization of American States (OAS), Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), Washington, D.C. USA – The primary DSD objective is to support member states to improve the management, conservation and sustainable use of water resources by promoting social and economic growth, including water governance, capacity building and promotion of information exchange. Website: http://www.oas.org/dsd/waterresources.html