On July 1, 2020, the T-MEC, the new North American trade agreement that replaces NAFTA, came into force. One of the improvements compared to its predecessor is the fact that environmental issues are addressed as a nodal aspect of the treaty.
Article 24 touches on aspects related to air pollution, ocean pollution, management of solid waste and discharges, trade in exotic terrestrial and aquatic species, as well as several paragraphs concerning the measures that the signatory countries must take to conserve and combat the overexploitation and illegal trade of natural resources, such as fishing (sections 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21) and forestry (paragraph 23).
The T-MEC reaffirms the importance of conserving natural resources and their biodiversity, as a fundamental part of regional development, and imposes new challenges to the governments of the three countries to achieve this. It mentions that Parties must take various measures to protect and conserve wild fauna and flora, including strengthening government capacity and institutional frameworks, as well as improving public participation and social transparency (paragraph 22).
In this context, the Natural Resources Transparency Index (ITRN) promoted by the organizations Causa Natura, Reforestamos México, CartoCrítica and the Fund for Environmental Communication and Education to measure the transparency of public information in fishery, forest and water resources, aligns with the T-MEC strategy to promote transparency in the management of natural resources in Mexico with the participation of citizens.
The results of the 2020 evaluation of the ITRN, (and which are also a commitment to the 4th action plan of the Open Government Alliance, AGA), include recommendations such as making everything related to permits and concessions transparent, as well as subsidies for fishing and water and forest use, emphasizing the need to make public the evidence (opinions, analysis and environmental and socio-economic studies) that support public policy decisions.
In addition, the information prioritized by the ITRN represents the voice of citizens captured through different workshops and surveys carried out with civil society actors, with special attention to users of natural resources. Therefore, it would be worthwhile for the bodies responsible for the management of natural resources, namely, CONAFOR, CONAGUA, CONAPESCA, ASEA and PROFEPA, as well as SEMARNAT and SADER as sectoral heads, to see in the ITRN, not an evaluation of their performance, but as an allied tool to advance transparency and citizen participation, in line with the new environmental standards.
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