Rational exploitation and utilization of natural and environmental resources is more difficult in cross-border areas than in areas under the jurisdiction of a single authority. Moreover, cross-border resource management is constrained by the number of independent stakeholders involved. The primary reasons for this come from the uneven spatial distribution of production factors as well as the non-cooperative cross-border mechanism resulting from two or more political regimes. Faced with cross-border pollution, policymakers tend to be shortsighted, emphasizing the direct costs and benefits of their own regional development at the expenses of their neighbors. In addition, research institutions and international donor agencies have not paid full attention to the problems common in cross-border areas. Consequently, cross-border area studies remain a marginalized, easily forgotten topic. The main objectives of this book are to clarify how natural and human systems interact in cross-border areas under conditions of uncertain, imperfect information and, in some circumstances, irreversibility; to identify and, where possible, quantify the various impacts of the 'border' on the environmental activities in cross-border areas; to evaluate the costs and benefits of cross-border cooperation in the exploitation and utilization of natural and environmental resources; and to recommend measures in improving national and international legal and regulatory mechanisms for resource exploitation and environmental protection in cross-border areas.

The Mexican -- United States border represents much more than the meeting place of two nations. Our border communities are often a line of first defense -- absorbing the complex economic, environmental and social impacts of globalization that ripple through the region. In many ways, our success or failure in finding solutions for the environmental, social and economic issues that plague the region may well define our ability to meet similar challenges thousands of miles from the border zone. Border residents face the environmental security concerns posed by water scarcity and transboundary air pollution; the planning and infrastructure needs of an exploding population; the debilitating effects of inadequate sanitary and health facilities; and the crippling cycle of widespread poverty. Yet, with its manifold problems, the border area remains an area of great dynamism and hope -- a multicultural laboratory of experimentation and grass-roots problem-solving. Indeed, as North America moves towards a more integrated economy, citizen action at the local level is pushing governments to adapt to the driving forces in the border area by creating new institutional arrangements and improving old ones. If there is one defining feature of this ground-up push for more responsive transboundary policies and institutions, it is a departure from the closed, formalistic models of the past to a more open, transparent and participatory model of international interaction.

Human health and environmental quality are inextricably linked, and should be viewed as a priority along the U.S.-Mexico border. The objective of this study was to determine whether the implementation of ISO 14001 conformant Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) would reduce the incidence of occupational injury and illness. ISO 14001 is a voluntary international standard that provides the specifications for an EMS. This longitudinal study, conducted retrospectively, evaluated the patterns of change in occupational injury and illness rates over time between two cohorts of border facilities--those in the U.S. and maquiladoras in Mexico. Companies were recruited to participate in the study and were placed in one of two study groups; those that had implemented an EMS and those that had not. Participants completed a survey requesting five years of occupational injury and illness (such as that recorded on an OSHA 200 log) and environmental performance (such as volume of hazardous waste generated) data so that repeated measures of occupational and environmental indicators from each participating facility could be obtained and analyzed. In order to assess whether injury and illness rates decreased following implementation of an EMS, negative binomial regression modeling was conducted with an EMS study group by time interaction while controlling for business sector membership. The results indicated the group by time interaction was marginally significant (p = 0.06). A final model was fit without the interaction where, after adjusting for business sector, EMS implementation was not significantly related to injury and illness rates (p = 0.08). However, EMS facilities on the U.S. side of the border had significantly lower occupational injury and illness rates than No EMS facilities (4.5 and 6.8 injuries and illnesses per 200,000 hours worked respectively; p = 0.04). EMS maquiladoras along the Mexican side of the border had a significantly higher rate of injuries and illnesses than No EMS maquiladoras (11.2 and 4.6 injuries and illnesses per 200,000 hours worked respectively; p = 0.01). These results offer for the first time, insight into differences in occupational health between companies that have and have not implemented environmental management systems in a binational setting.