1. Mr. Cletus I. Springer
Director, Department ofSustainable Development
Organization ofAmerican States
1889 F Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Mr. Springer:
United States Department of State
Bureau ofOceans and International
Environmental and Scientific A.ffairs
Washington, D.C. 20520
July 27, 2016
You have no doubt already been briefed on the impressive results ofthe July
7-8 Tenth Anniversary Meeting ofthe Dominican Republic-Central America-
United States Free Trade Agreement's (CAFTA-DR) Environmental Affairs
Council (EAC). But I expect your staff were too modest to tell you that it was the
remarkable support they provided in organizing and executing the events that
contributed enormously to the EAC's success. Many staff members in the
Department of Sustainable Development had a role in supporting the EAC, but I'd
like to single out for particular praise the hard work ofMs. Claudia de Windt, Mr.
Oscar Ceville, and Mr. Sergio Martinez.
For example, the Special Edition of the CAFTA-DR Report on Progress of
Environmental Cooperation effectively highlighted the people of CAFTA-DR and
the important achievements of the past ten years. It was a hit during the meeting
and will remain an important tool for communicating the results of our work. The
audiovisual materials your team developed for the EAC, in particularly the country
videos, dramatically captured the impact that our programs are having in local
communities and provided a platform to highlight the work of our implementers.
In addition, Claudia did a fantastic job moderating the ministerial panel at the
public session.
I look forward to our future collaboration as we continue promoting the
results ofthe CAFTA-DR Environmental Cooperation Program.
Acting Assistant Secretary