North America Overview: NAFTA, the CEC, and Other Bilateral/Trilateral Institutions

• Author: John H. Knox
• Pages: 285-297

CHAPTER 16

North America Overview: NAFTA,

the CEC, and Other Bilateral/Trilateral

Institutions

JOHN H. KNOX

The United States, Canada, and Mexico have entered into many international

environmental agreements with one another.1 Most are bilateral, but all three

countries belong to one regional environmental agreement, the North Ameri-

can Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).2 This chapter

describes first the agreements between the United States and Canada, then

the U.S-Mexico agreements, and finally the NAAEC.

I. Agreements between the United States and Canada

The United States and Canada have a long history of environmental coop-

eration, which has resulted in agreements concerning (1) the lakes and rivers

along their long boundary; (2) transboundary air pollution; (3) cross-border

trade in hazardous and solid waste; and (4) conservation of species of mutual

interest.

A. Boundary Waters

The oldest North American environmental agreement is the 1909 Boundary

Waters Treaty, which is principally directed at establishing reciprocal free-

dom of navigation in, and regulating diversions from, the Great Lakes and

other border water bodies.3 Under the treaty, obstructions and diversions on

either side of the boundary that affect the level or flow of waters on the

other side may occur only with the approval of an independent, binational

body, the International Joint Commission (IJC).4 The countries have also

negotiated agreements on the development of particular border water

resources, such as the Columbia River.5

The 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty includes a general prohibition on harm-

ful transboundary water pollution,6 but it leaves implementation entirely to

the governments; unlike diversions of the boundary waters, transboundary

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