SMART BORDERS AND GREEN TRADE CORRIDORS The Green Trade Corridors program is designed to provide information and environmental perspectives on the emerging trends in the transportation industry as they relate to the burgeoning trade corridors throughout North America, with the end objective of striking a balance between trade and its environmental affects on communities in Canada, United States, and Mexico. OVERVIEW -> 1999 Inception of program as a result of meeting of transportation and trade corridor specialists to promote corridor awareness and reducing local environmental and social impacts on communities. -> 2000 Trinational meeting between US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Rosario endorsing Green Trade Corridors concept. Hosting a series of meetings with local developers, elected officials, and NGOs on creating a vision for the development of the NM-Mexico border, and the emerging trade corridor. Organized, with New Mexico First, statewide Task Force to draft a strategic plan for the development of New Mexico’s border with Mexico to be finalized by the end of 2002. New Mexico, Chihuahua Border The US-Mexico border is one of the most rapidly growing regions in North America, replete with its own unique set of issues. In a desert region that averages less than nine inches of rain per year, water is the most critical and precious resource available, and dictates the pace of growth; health issues are prevalent due to the lack of water; basic infrastructure such as sewage, electricity, and running water is non-existent along the Mexican side and even parts of the US side; the increase in trade as a result of NAFTA has brought on air and noise pollution, and the number of trucks passing through the ports of entry is increasing on a daily basis. The border population, currently around 12.4 million people, is expected to double by the year 2020, to over 25 million. The New Mexico-Chihuahua portion of the border is no exception. There is a bright side to the picture, and that is an area known as Santa Teresa. The State of New Mexico has recently completed building a new, state-of-the-art international land port of entry with Mexico, designed to alleviate some of the bottlenecks found in the traditional bridge crossings in nearby El Paso. A new four-lane freeway now links the port of entry with I-10, the major East-West Interstate. Intermodal transfer centers are planned, linking trucks with rail and air and thus allowing for a seamless flow of commerce. A binational city is being planned, with residential communities along with industrial centers with manufacturing and warehousing. The North American Institute, in its capacity as a trinational convening organization that fosters trans-border dialog, is sponsoring a series of conferences in the southern part of New Mexico to promote discussion on the Santa Teresa development. NAMI sees the Santa Teresa region as an opportunity to learn from the other border cities such as San Diego/Tijuana, El Paso/Juarez, and Laredo/Nuevo Laredo, and create a new border crossing that is more environmentally friendly, and can handle the increase in truck traffic (up almost 30% since 1994), a first-of-its-kind binational city that physically spans the border and featuring planned communities with long-term growth in mind. NAMI is working with all the vested interests, including the private sector, the NGOs, the State and Federal officials, and academics to put together a series of meetings designed to bring these parties together and create a practical, sustainable vision for the area. RELATED LINKS www.corridors.gc.ca/ www.fhwa.dot.gov/binational/maps/fig2-02.html www.tradecorridors.com/ www.ccities.doe.gov/international/corridors.shtml cec.org/home/index.cfm?varlan=english For more information about the Green Trade Corridors Program, contact: David Griscom, Executive Director 708 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 (505) 982-3657 [email protected] THE NORTH AMERICAN INSTITUTE NAMI-CANADA Sen. Jack Austin The Senate of Canada Victoria Building 140 Wellington Street, Room 304 Ottowa, Ontario Canada K1A 0A4 Tel: 613-992-1437 Fax: 613-995-7329 Email: [email protected] UNITED STATES NAMI-U.S. 708 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel: 505.982.3657 Fax: 505.983.5840 Email: [email protected] NAMI-MEXICO Amb. Jesus Reyes Heroles StructurA Pestalozzi 522 Colonia del Valle Mexico DF 03020 Tel: 011 52 555 639-3791 Fax: 011 52 555 639-4624 Email: [email protected]   © 2002 - 2017 The North American Institute

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