On behalf of the members of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), I am pleased to invite you to participate at our upcoming conference on Healthy Communities and Ecosystems, to take place in Guanajuato, Mexico, on the 16th of August 2010.
The main objective for the meeting will be to provide a forum for public and expert discussion on the link between healthy ecosystems and human health, and to showcase the CEC's North American Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry (NAPRTR), as a tool that can be used by communities to access information about the sources and amounts of pollution in their communities, and to use this information to assess and abate potential health and environmental effects associated with these pollutants. The discussion will explore ways to promote accessibility to PRTR data in North America, as well as to enhance its usefulness in addressing health issues. The results and recommendations will in turn support the JPAC in its advisory role to the CEC Council, consisting of the cabinet-level environment ministers of the three NAFTA countries.
The entire event will be webcast live on the 16th of August, with an online discussion forum on the CEC's website available before the event. Follow-up discussions and links to conference presentations will be added shortly after. The JPAC has begun making extensive use of electronic tools such as Facebook and video broadcasts to ensure citizens in the three countries, regardless of location or language, have access to timely, incisive, and balanced discussion on North American environmental issues.
