Border Environmental Fund
class="connectionssub">Building The Capacity Of Grassroots Environmental Organizations

Rapid industrial and population growth at the border has given rise to serious environmental and human health problems such as air and water pollution, scarcity of water, occupational health hazards, unplanned colonias that lack potable water and sewage, and the degradation of natural habitats for animals and plants.

On the Mexican side of the border, grassroots environmental organizations are working to change these conditions with very limited resources. These groups are hampered by the fact that many have not been able to obtain tax-deductible status by the Mexican Government, though several of these organizations, including Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, A.C. (FINCOMUN), ICF's sister foundation in Baja California, are working to change this.

In order to bolster the institutional capacity of environmental non-governmental organizations in Baja California, in 2001 ICF initiated the Border Environmental Fund (BEF) in collaboration with FINCOMUN, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, a Tijuana-based environmental education and policy organization. The purpose of the fund is to build the capacity of grassroots environmental organizations that are working to preserve the border's environment through education, community planning, new technologies, and sustainable development. Funded by the U.S. EPA's Border Office and the Walton Family Foundation, the Border Environmental Fund recently made a total of $43,144 in grants to six community organizations in its first round of funding, including:

Pronatura, A.C. $10,000
To work with Jan Jan, a coalition of eight organizations from San Diego to Ensenada that will train community volunteers to monitor the quality of border area coastal waters at Imperial Beach, Playas de Tijuana, Rosarito, and Ensenada.

Comité de Participación y Defensa Ciudadana (COPADEC) $8,004
A Tecate environmental justice organization working to promote greater public awareness of environmental protection, conservation and cultural preservation issues of importance to its area ($8,004 plus an additional $2,500 for institutional strengthening through PROBEA).

Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, A.C. $2,500
To provide technical support and additional institutional strengthening to COPADEC.

Instituto de Culturas Nativas de Baja California, A.C .(CUNA) $10,400
To support institutional strengthening for the organization's environmental and sustainable development outreach programs with Baja California's indigenous communities.

Foro Ensenada (Ensenada 2025) $7,000
For a feasibility study to evaluate the creation of a marine protected area from Ensenada Bay to Eréndira.

Los Niños, $5,240
To assist in educating community promotoras about recycling and organic gardening at Ecoparque and in other neighborhoods throughout Tijuana.

For more information on the Border Environmental Fund call Richard Kiy at 619.235.2300, Ext. 311.