Free Flow

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egal

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the

ational

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vation infrastructure until satisfactory agreements for both countries

were reached. Confrontation was avoided and the problem moved

from the conflict zone into the area of cooperation. Currently, this

institutional arrangement is being tested again by the most severe

drought in the past 70 years. Now, the drought affects the entire

border region, endangering the almost unique sources of water for

the inhabitants of the border region.

One of the greatest achievements of this cooperation scheme

has been the border programme of water and sanitation infrastruc-

ture, led by the EPA and its counterpart in Mexico, the National

Water Commission. The purpose of the programme is to improve

the coverage and quality of water services, and therefore health, in

the border area. To this end, the EPA established the Border Water

Infrastructure Program,

which in turn funds the Environmental

Infrastructure Fund (BEIF) and the Project Development Assistance

Program that are managed by NADBANK and BECC respectively to

support studies, designs and construction. In a few years, this border

infrastructure programme has obtained remarkable results in indica-

tors such as coverage of water and sanitation services. Through this

programme, the US invested in water and sanitation infrastructure

at the border, not only within its country but also within Mexican

territory. Mexico, for the projects selected for the BEIF programme,

must match the funds invested by the US using federal, state or

municipal funding. To access these investments, communities in

the border region of both countries must be approved through a

project certification process that is completed through BECC, a

unique mechanism to obtain the BIEF funds. Once approved, funds

are deposited with NADBANK as well as the Mexican matching

counterpart. This certification means that the approved projects are

sustainable, technically and financially feasible, with

operation and maintenance plans, and are understood

and supported by the communities.

This bilateral cooperation scheme is unique in the

world, establishing an organization which directly identi-

fies the needs of the communities, supports their proposals

to meet certification criteria – a body of technical and

financial requirements – with a long-term planning

perspective and with social validation. At the same time,

both governments devote resources to this border region,

supporting and funding these projects, mainly channelled

by NADBANK. This process also includes the coordina-

tion and participation of various levels of the federal, state

and municipal governments of both countries along with

members of the public and private sectors.

In Mexico, a distinctive component of this scheme has

been a successful public participation process indepen-

dently conducted by BECC. The process serves not only

the technical components of projects, but also meets

the specific needs of the communities and addresses

their points of view and concerns. This approach has

made a huge difference in this type of infrastructure

projects in Mexico. Virtually no case of strong opposi-

tion during construction of certified projects has been

registered, because projects were agreed to in advance

by the communities. Instead, the process has made

possible the obtaining of public support on controver-

sial issues such as the increase of service fees, which has

happened in many border cities to ensure sustainable

A successful public participation process in Mexico helps projects to meet the specific needs of communities

Image: BECC