This workshop focused on key issues related to Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) and the environment. It had three main objectives: (i) to take stock of current experience and insights on RTAs and the environment from different stakeholders, and to establish a stakeholder dialogue on this topic; (ii) to investigate how RTAs can serve as a vehicle to advance a resource efficient and circular economy transition; and (iii) to explore the potential of RTAs in addressing the nexus of illegal trade and environmental crime

1. U.S. FTA-Related
Environmental
Cooperation In Tackling
Illegal Trade and
Environmental Crime

2. Environmental Cooperation Mechanisms
Parties agree to cooperate to protect, improve and conserve the environment, via priority
areas of cooperation:
Strengthening institutional and legal frameworks
and the capacity to develop, implement, administer,
and enforce environmental laws, regulations,
standards, and policies.
Developing and promoting incentives and other
flexible and voluntary mechanisms in order to
encourage environmental protection.
Fostering partnerships to address current or
emerging conservation and management issues,
including personnel training and capacity building.
Conserving and managing shared, migratory, and
endangered species in international trade and
management of marine parks and other protected
areas.
Exchanging information on domestic
implementation of multilateral environmental
agreements that all the Parties have ratified.
Promoting best practices leading to
sustainable management of the environment.
Facilitating technology development and transfer
and training to promote the use, proper operation,
and maintenance of clean production technologies.
Developing and promoting environmentally
beneficial goods and services.
Building capacity to promote public participation in the
process of environmental decision-making.

3. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Environmental
Cooperation Agreement (ECA)
 USMCA and the ECA entered into force July 1, 2020.
 The ECA’s Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is promoting the
legal, sustainable, and traceable production and trade of select North
American species listed in CITES Appendix II by implementing action plans for
certain species of sharks, tarantulas, turtles/tortoises, parrots, and timber.
 To support North American commitments under the Basel Convention, the CEC
developed educational tools and facilitates collaboration among enforcement
agencies.
 CEC supported Mexico’s efforts to develop its environmental monitoring
program (PRONAME) and inventory of industrial chemicals, and to fulfill its
obligations under the Stockholm Convention on POPs and Minamata
Convention on Mercury.
 Submissions on Enforcement Matters (100th submission in Feb. 2021).

4. CAFTA-DR Environmental Cooperation Program (ECP)
Strong Laws and
Regulations
Improving 260 laws and regulations to address wildlife trafficking, air and water
pollution, solid waste management, and other critical environmental issues.
Increasing Awareness Reaching over 31 million people through awareness campaigns on protection
and conservation of wildlife.
Building Capacity
Supporting 42 operations and apprehending 260 individuals between January 2019
and May 2020, through the Central American-Dominican Republic Wildlife
Enforcement Network (CAWEN/ROAVIS).
Providing training to more than 140,000 people on environmental policy and
enforcement.
Protecting Wildlife

5.  U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) support improved enforcement of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).
CAFTA-DR: Combatting Wildlife
Trafficking of Flora and Fauna
 January 2019 to May 2020, officials coordinating through CAWEN
confiscated over 2,400 reptiles, 500 birds, and 100 mammals.
 Established and strengthened the Central American-Dominican
Republic Wildlife Enforcement Network (CAWEN-ROAVIS).
 Supported the training of more than 2,205 judges, prosecutors,
customs officers, and other enforcement official.

6. CAFTA-DR: Illegal Logging
 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has engaged with government, academic,
and NGO partners on wood identification technology, seed
preservation and seed bank capacity building, timber traceability and
chain of custody, and reforestation and forest restoration efforts.
 More than 2,080 reference timber samples from eight high-risk species
have been collected for use in wood identification technology global
databases.
 USFS seed bank in-person and online technical trainings have reached
over 1,000 participants.
 USFS support to improve Guatemala’s timber traceability system has
allowed over 1,500 forestry businesses to streamline processes and
data verification with the country’s National Forest Institute.

7. CAFTA-DR: Illegal, Unreported, and
Unregulated (IUU) Fishing
 Working with the Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture
Organization (OSPESCA), ECP assessed region’s institutional and legal
frameworks for managing fisheries, focusing on monitoring, control,
and surveillance strengths, weaknesses and gaps.
 Updated fishing registry in Regulation OSP-01-09 “Integrated
Registration System of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Central
America” (SIRPAC).
 Established program for inspection and selection of inspectors to
improve mechanisms and resources in place to ensure compliance
with Central American Integration System (SICA) regulations.
 Updated regulation OSP-03-10 on monitoring systems and use of
satellite technology to combat IUU fishing.
 Training and capacity building activities for 83 government
officials and inspectors.

8. Secretariat for Environmental Matters (SEM)
Submissions Mechanism (44 to date)
 Active Submissions
 Deforestation in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, Dominican Republic
 Landfill in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
 Success Stories
 Humane Society International (HSI) and Hawksbill Turtle Trade
 Santa Tecla Ecological Defense Committee and Villa Veranda Development
CAFTA-DR SEM online: www.saa-sem.org

9. • www.caftadr-environment.org
• www.facebook.com/caftadr
• twitter:@DRCAFTA
“Fostering Environmental Protection: 15 Years Of
Environmental Cooperation Under CAFTA-DR”
June 2021 State Magazine:
https://statemag.state.gov/2021/06/0621feat02/
Monitoring and Communications

10. U.S.-Panama TPA
 DOI delivered training on CITES implementation and
enforcement.
 Promoted increased cooperation among countries in the
region to combat wildlife trafficking through CAWEN.
 DOI conducted workshops to sensitize judges,
investigators and customs inspectors to wildlife crime
issues and other environmental cases.
 Seminars to strengthen environmental management at
seaports.
 EPA’s legal experts conducted a variety of workshops
related to environmental compliance.

11. U.S.-Panama TPA
 USFS strengthened Panama’s capacity to reduce the
harvest, processing, and trade of illegal timber of
rosewood and other threatened timber species, and to
ensure CITES compliance.
 USFS supported reforestation efforts and recently
conducted a timber traceability study in Panamá Este and
Darién.
 USFS is working to strengthen the capacity of forest sector
authorities to identify wood species and detect illegally
sourced timber.

12. U.S.-Peru TPA: Illegal Logging
U.S.-Peru TPA Annex on Forest Sector Governance
Institutional Strengthening
 USFS supported national and sub-national governments in the
establishment of a new Forest Service (SERFOR), launched in 2014,
and Regional Environmental Authorities in the Amazonian regions of
San Martin, Amazonas, Loreto, and Ucayali.
 USFS assisted in the design and implementation of a public
participation strategy for the regulations of the Forest and Wildlife
Law, generating over 2,500 comments collected via stakeholder
meetings and a custom designed web-based portal.
 USFS helped Peru’s Ministry of Environment apply lessons learned from
the regulations process in the development of its National Climate and
Forests Strategy (ENBCC), passed in 2016.

13. U.S.-Peru TPA: Illegal Logging
Conservation and Management of Forest Ecosystems
 Since 2011, USFS has provided technical assistance in inventory design,
quality control, and data processing and analysis. The pilot Permanent
Production Forest inventory in Loreto has served as model for production
forest inventories in the Ucayali and San Martin regions.
 Peru now has standardized, reliable data on over 2 million hectares of forest
across the Amazon - allowed the granting of the first new forest concessions
in 10 years.
 Development of other tools: forest carbon measurement manual,
standardized protocols for evaluation of concession management plans and
measurement of tree species among various agencies and authorities.
 Designing a National Dendrology Strategy, which outlines steps toward the
standardized taxonomic identification of all tree species within the various
forest inventories and population studies that are planned or currently
underway.
 Training in best practices in laboratory management and testing procedures.
Peru’s Center for Technological Innovation for Wood (CITEMadera) achieved
accreditation from ISO for its quality management systems following its
implementation of the first Manual for Best Practices in Laboratory
Management.

14. U.S.-Peru TPA: Illegal Logging
Improving Access to Natural Resource Information, Transparency,
Participation
 Improved authorities’ ability to track, monitor and manage forest
resources. Developed a network of Geospatial Data Infrastructures
(IDEs) at the national and sub-national level. The IDEs aim to
standardize the generation, processing, exchange, and dissemination
of geographical and remote sensing information for decision support
systems throughout the country, namely for natural resource
management.
 Supported the development of the National Forest and Wildlife
Information Management System (SNIFF) Chain of Custody prototype.
The CoC prototype is a fully functioning cloud-based timber tracking
system, custom designed by USFS and delivered to the GOP as a proof
of concept for the subsequent development of the Control Module of
the SNIFF and was successfully piloted in Peru’s two main timber
corridors (Loreto-Ucayali-Lima and Madre de Dios-Cusco-Lima).

15. U.S.-Peru and
U.S.-Colombia TPAs: Illegal Mining
 Analyzing regulatory and/or enforcement gaps in Peru’s current
mercury tracking systems, both licit and illicit, from importation to
end uses to export of elemental mercury.
 Analyzing formal and illicit supply chain of elemental mercury from La
Paz, Bolivia to Madre de Dios, Peru.
 Working with Peru’s SUNAT and the Ministries of Environment; Energy
and Mines; and Transport to develop a mercury tracking system.
 Working in Colombia on interim storage facilities for elemental
mercury. Trying to prevent its diversion back to ASGM after it has
been seized by law enforcement.
 Partnering with OAS Department on Transnational Organized Crime to
host several workshops on mercury trade, tracking, handling, and
interim storage.

16. U.S.-Chile FTA
 Supported Chile’s advancement to CITES Category 1.
 “Collaborative Dialogue” toolkit is a best practice described in the
Conflict Resolution Manual developed with DOI. Manual recognized by
CONAF through an internal decree that instructs rangers to apply the
Collaborative Dialogue and has reached 450 park rangers.
 Expanded South-South cooperation. Shared best practices on
environmental enforcement, air quality management, water resource
management, public participation, and protected area management.
Chile shared its Wildlife Crime Scene Investigation Field Manual for
First Responders.
 Training to Chile’s Ministry of Mining on management of financial
assurances to implement mine closure legislation.

17. U.S.-Chile, Mexico, and Peru FTAs:
Sustainable Fisheries Management
 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) strengthened capacity to assess and
manage data- and capacity-limited fisheries, improve linkages
between fisheries policy makers and stock assessment scientists, and
develop enforcement mechanisms.
 TNC used FishPath process
 Designed for use with data-limited fisheries
 Empowers fisheries scientists and managers to select appropriate
options for, and be trained in, data collection, stock assessment,
and management measures.
 Training on compliance and enforcement of sustainable fisheries
management regulations, selecting and incorporating technology, and
regional and country-specific implications of international and U.S.
marine laws.

18. U.S.-Chile, Mexico, and Peru FTAs:
Sustainable Fisheries Management
 In Chile, fishermen, local NGOs, academics, consultants, and
government agency staff (SUBPESCA, IFOP, SERNAPESCA),
agreed on management measures for Vieja Negra fishery:
 fishing ban during reproductive season of species.
 establishment of expert judgment recommendations on size
and bag limits for recreational fishing sector targeting
coastal rocky reef finfish species like the Vieja Negra.
 In Mexico, training materials, tools, and approaches developed
will continue to be used in future INAPESCA trainings. Other
local partners interested in using the FishPath.
 In Peru, FishPath process has been integrated into IMARPE’s
steps for rapid assessments and long-term review processes of
assessments.

19. U.S.-Morocco, Jordan, and Oman FTAs:
CITES Enforcement
.
 DOI is working on strengthening CITES enforcement, reducing wildlife
trafficking, and improving management of protected areas and parks.
 In Jordan and Morocco, DOI has helped to develop electronic
databases for CITES permits, allowing the CITES authorities to
better communicate with Customs.
 DOI supported the development of a mobile CITES app in Jordan.
 DOI and CITES Secretariat helped Jordan complete legislation
required to become CITES Category 1.