Borders XXI Program Stirs Sovereignty Fears

   Concerns about national sovereignty and the rights of 
private property owners in the four states bordering on 
Mexico have been raised by reports of a program called Bor-
ders XXI, part of an agreement with Mexico that, in effect, 
moves the border between the two countries 60 miles in both 
directions.  
 According to The Investigative Reporter published in 
Huntington Beach, Calif., the border shift is the result of 
the La Paz Agreement, a 1983 pact between the U.S. and 
Mexico (Agreement for the Protection and Improvement of the 
Environment in the Border Area.) 
   In 1993, the paper continues, the U.S. and Mexico signed 
an environmental side agreement to the North American Free 
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that dealt with this 120 mile wide 
strip straddling the border from San Diego to the Gulf of 
Mexico.  This agreement, the paper reports, creates and 
provides funding for the Border Environment Cooperation 
Project and the North American Development Bank. A five-
year implementation plan, the paper said, will be developed 
and implemented.  Presumably, the status of property and 
the rights of the 10 million people said to be living in 
the strip will be subject to that plan. 
   The Investigative Reporter  notes that a major objective 
of Borders XXI is to implement Sustainable Development as 
set out in the 1992 U.S. Conference on World Environment in 
Brazil.  These principles, the paper continues, were 
adopted by President Bill Clinton who established the 
"President's Council on Sustainable Development."
   The paper reports that under the Sustainable Development 
programs, as described in a report of the President's 
council, "visioning councils" will be created to limit 
urban sprawl and designate land areas to be designed for 
"pedestrian and bicycle traffic" and rail corridors for 
inter-community travel.
   The council report, according to the publication, 
asserts that "Private property should be "managed for 
sustainability within the constraints of Federal policy and 
community visions."   Other points said to be in this  
population control as well as a recognition to that 
individual freedom, property rights and national sovereign-
ty are obstacles to the vision and must be overcome or 
modified. 
   The Borders XXI program, intended to effectuate Sus-
tainable Development concept, identifies some key ob-
jectives including: 
   Expanding protection of species and habitats;
  Guaranteeing conservation of ecosystems and diversity.  
To achieve this, the U.S. Geological Survey will use 
infrared aerial photography to map the area and monitor 
land use. 
   According to the publication, and others, the 
U.S./Mexico Border XXI Program is a five-volume, 700-page 
document available from the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 2621 Washington DC 20460.  Ask for EPA-160-D-96-001 
June '96.