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Press Release No. 025 /14
Mexico City, February 24, 2014

 

Mexican Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Juan Jose Guerra Abud, met with Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, who agreed to give continuity to cooperation agreements on forest fires and share experiences in environmental regulation.

Both officials acknowledged that bilateral cooperation has been instrumental in tackling forest fires to date, and considered that the recent signing of the MOU will help strengthen this collaboration.

The National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) is responsible for Mexico’s implementation of the agreement, which includes the creation of an Operational Plan for the sharing of personal information, technology, skills, training, research and innovation in order to improve skills and knowledge in the management of forest fires and to provide effective assistance.

Secretary Guerra and Minister Oliver also exchanged experiences in environmental regulation with the support of experts and through technical visits.

During the meeting, Guerra Abud highlighted the work Mexico has been done in the development of legislation and planning instruments in climate change, which is a source of learning for bilateral and regional cooperation.

Upon concluding the meeting, the officials reiterated their desire to promote an agenda of bilateral environmental cooperation that contributes to guiding the development of both countries towards green growth that is respectful of the natural environment.

The meeting was attended by Cuauhtémoc Fernández Ochoa, Undersecretary for Environmental Development and Regulation; Enrique Lendo, Head of International Affairs, George Rescala Pérez, Director General of CONAFOR, and Luis Fueyo MacDonald, National Commissioner of Protected Areas (CONANP).