About the Program

The Mexicali and Imperial Valley border region stands at a critical environmental crossroads. The conflict between industrial development, job creation, and energy needs on the one hand and air pollution and environmental degradation on the other present tremendous challenges for achieving sustainable and socially responsible economic growth. According to a recent report on air quality issued by the government of Mexico, ozone, particulate matter, and toxins have reached alarming levels in Mexicali. An absence of norms, networking, and partnerships have hindered efforts to reduce airborne pollutants.

Air quality problems in Mexicali stem from a variety of sources, including motor vehicles, farming, industry, and the service sector. The role of each source of airborne pollution is not yet clearly defined, and it will take multiple strategies at a variety of levels to identify, address, and ultimately resolve air quality problems.

To this end, LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas has received a grant from InterGen Services, Inc. to establish the Border Ozone Reduction and Air Quality Improvement Program. The three-year program will examine effective, scientifically based and measurable methods to reduce ozone creation and improve air quality along the border region of Imperial County, California, and Mexicali, Baja California. The program will also address cross-border policy issues such as shared environmental standards and the purchase of emission reduction offsets or other mitigation efforts that achieve a similar benefit.

The initiative has multiple objectives:

• Review available data and assess current air quality in the border region, ensuring that any information gaps are filled.
  
  
• Provide funding for applied research that has the potential to provide a demonstrable reduction in airborne contaminants.
  
  
• Determine measures that will lead to shared air quality standards in the border region.

The hope is that the program will encourage ongoing collaborations between academia and the industry, civic, and government sectors, with the shared goal of maintaining improved air quality. Therefore, applied research grant applications are invited from universities and research centers that have formed partnerships with industries, government agencies, or civic groups who have the ability to implement the proposed projects.

LASPAU began work on the program in the fall of 2002 by identifying and selecting an independent scientific advisory board from among its network of academic and scientific contacts. The board, comprising leading academics from the United States and Mexico with expertise in science and the environment, provides overall program guidance.

About LASPAU

LASPAU, a non-profit organization based at Harvard University, has forty years of experience in designing and implementing academic and professional exchange programs to address the social, political, and economic challenges facing the Americas. LASPAU-administered programs sponsored by U.S. and Latin American government agencies, academic institutions, multilateral banks, foundations, and corporations have provided grants for study and research to over 16,000 individuals from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 1992, LASPAU has implemented a number of programs supporting sustainable development. LASPAU's extensive network of alumni and institutions is a valuable resource for the development of innovative solutions to environmental problems such as those facing the U.S.-Mexico border region.

About InterGen

InterGen (Mexico subsidiary: Energia Azteca) is a global power generation firm with projects around the world. Founded in 1995, InterGen is jointly owned by Shell Generating (Holding) B.V. and Bechtel Enterprises Energy B.V. Its assets and services form a worldwide network of national energy companies that underpin sustainable growth strategies in local markets. InterGen and its employees are committed to upholding an intrinsic set of core values, building strong and lasting local relationships, and adhering to strict standards for environmental protection, business ethics, and corporate integrity. The Border Ozone Reduction and Air Quality Improvement Program is one of a number of InterGen sustainable development initiatives associated with its new Baja California power plant, La Rosita.

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