Summit of Americas Has Little Time for Environment

MONTERREY, Mexico, January 14, 2004 (ENS) - Environmental concerns were sidelined at the Special Summit of the Americas which concluded Tuesday with a declaration by the 34 heads of the democratic governments in the hemisphere.

At this first Summit of the Americas held since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC in September 2001, the leaders focused on democratic governance, free trade, and combating terrorism.

Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada addresses fellow leaders at the Summit of the Americas. (Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister)

"It's a vital relationship," Bush said. "We share the same values of family and human dignity and treating people decently. And I really look forward to working with Prime Minister Martin."

"We share a continent and we share values and we share a perspective on what's the best thing for our people," Martin said, adding that "essentially, working together is really the way we are going to do the best thing for our people."

On the issue of mad cow disease both leaders said they would work closely together and rely on science to deal with the disease, but gave no specifics. On December 23, the U.S. Agriculture Department announced that one cow with the fatal disease had been found. The cow has been traced to a herd from Alberta, Canada.

President Bush said he personally has not stopped eating beef because he believes the food supply is safe. "We've got a lot of beef going across our border. We've got beef on the hoof and beef in the box. And the cattle industries are very important for our respective provinces and states," he said.

"The best way to make sure that we're able to satisfy the consumers in both our countries, as well as around the world is there ought to be very close coordination on regulation, on information and on the science," the President said.

"This is a North American industry and the solutions are science based," said Prime Minister Martin. "And those science-based solutions are going to be arrived at between the two of us. And that's where the coordination comes in."

On Monday, President Bush and met privately with Mexican President Vicente Fox to discuss Bush's newly proposed temporary worker program and other topics, but not the environment.

President George W. Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico participate in a press conference January 12, 2004. (Photo by Paul Morse courtesy The White House)

President Fox called it a "valuable" proposal and a "step forward" on the issue of migration flow between the two countries.

The Mexican President mentioned the existence of several working groups that are making plans to normalize the market in automobiles, food, agriculture products, construction materials and consumption goods, trade and services. "Another one is working on energy, another one in scientific and technological cooperation, another one regional cooperation on trade and investment," President Fox said.

The U.S. State Department said President Bush came to the Summit to urge leaders to strengthen the foundations for democracy and economic growth in the hemisphere by taking action to promote democracy and good governance, to spur private sector led growth and reduce poverty, and to improve health and education. There was no mention of environmental protection in the U.S. agenda.

President Bush got some of what he wanted at the summit. In Monterrey, the hemisphere's leaders reaffirmed their support for completing the Free Trade Area of the Americas, on schedule, by 2005, and expressed their shared interest in advancing the World Trade Organization's current round of negotiations.

In their final declaration, known as the Declaration of Nuevo León for the Mexican state in which the gathering was held, the leaders made several vague and general references to environmental protection.

They expressed their concerns about emerging diseases and reemerging diseases, such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and tuberculosis, in view of "the current economic, social, and environmental health contexts, the impact of recurrent natural disasters, and health problems associated with the unplanned growth of densely populated areas."

They committed their governments to reinforcing promotion, prevention, control, and treatment programs, and promised to deepen technical cooperation with the Pan-American Health Organization, the Inter-American Development Bank and other agencies to control and eradicate these diseases.

President George W. Bush talks with President Francisco Flores of El Salvador at the Special Summit of the America's in Monterrey, Mexico. January 13, 2004 (Photo by Eric Draper courtesy The White House)

In this context, the leaders said, they support the implementation of the AGRO 2003-2015 Plan of Action for Agriculture and Rural Life of the Americas, adopted at the Second Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life held in Panama in November 2003.

They expressed support for the Global Forum on Biotechnology, scheduled for Chile in March 2004, which they said "will contribute to fighting hunger in the region."

The leaders said they would increase cooperation and strengthen the institutions responsible for coordinating and implementing measures to reduce the impact of natural disasters on people and their effect on national development plans, with emphasis on prevention, mitigation, emergency measures, and risk management at all levels.

"We believe that ensuring environmental health for our people is an investment for long-term well-being and prosperity," they said.

Noting a "new alliance" between the region's ministers of health and environment, the leaders instructed them to "develop a cooperation agenda to prevent and minimize the negative impacts to the environment and human health."

The leaders concluded their declaration by saying that the Fourth Summit of the Americas will be held in Argentina in 2005.