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[Federal Register: January 27, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 17)]
[Notices]               
[Page 4440-4441]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ja10-140]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 6885]

 
Meeting of the Working group on Environmental Cooperation 
Pursuant to the United States-Morocco Joint Statement on Environmental 
Cooperation

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 4441]]

SUMMARY: The Department of State is providing notice that the U.S. and 
Morocco will hold a meeting of the Working Group on Environmental 
Cooperation (``Working Group'') in Rabat, Morocco on February 9, 2010, 
at a venue to be announced. Meetings of the Working Group were forecast 
in paragraph five of the United States-Morocco Joint Statement on 
Environmental Cooperation (``Joint Statement''), signed on June 1, 
2004.
    During the meeting, the U.S. and Morocco will review cooperative 
environmental work they have undertaken and will outline plans for 
future activities pursuant to the Joint Statement. In addition, the 
U.S. and Morocco will formally review and adopt a new 2010-2012 Plan of 
Action for implementing environmental cooperation consistent with the 
Joint Statement. The entire meeting will be open to the public with 
simultaneous interpretation in English and French. Time will be 
allocated for question and answer sessions. See below under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details on the background and 
purpose of the meeting.

DATES:
    To be assured of timely consideration, all written comments or 
suggestions are requested no later than February 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions should be e-mailed 
(WingRD@state.gov) or faxed ((202) 647-1052) to Robert Wing, U.S. 
Department of State, Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science, Office 
of Environmental Policy, with the subject line ``Meeting of the U.S.-
Morocco Working Group on Environmental Cooperation.'' For those with 
access to the Internet, comments may be submitted at the following 
address: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#home.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Wing, telephone (202) 647-6780.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In paragraph five of the U.S.-Morocco Joint 
Statement on Environmental Cooperation, the United States and Morocco 
announced the establishment of a Working Group on Environmental 
Cooperation intended to meet regularly. The mandate of the Working 
Group is to advance environmental protection in Morocco by developing 
cooperative environmental activities that take into account 
environmental priorities and that are agreed to by the two Governments. 
The Working Group will develop a Plan of Action towards meeting this 
goal.
    The 2005-2007 Plan of Action focused on a set of mutually 
identified goals which will advance environmental protection in Morocco 
and will assist Morocco in meeting its obligations under the U.S.-
Morocco Free Trade Agreement. These goals were: (1) Strengthening the 
capacity to develop, implement and enforce environmental laws and 
regulations, (2) encouraging the development of incentives and 
voluntary mechanisms to contribute to the achievement and maintenance 
of high levels of environmental protection, (3) promoting opportunities 
for public participation in environmental protection efforts and 
improving public access to information and access to justice on 
environmental issues, (4) protecting coastal environmental zones and 
estuaries and preventing the over-exploitation of fisheries resources, 
(5) safeguarding important natural resources, such as water, and 
protected areas in Morocco, and (6) promoting the growth of the 
environmental-technology business sector. Some indicative actions 
undertaken in these areas have included workshops on environmental 
impact assessment and the use of economic incentives for environmental 
decision making. Ongoing work includes: Assistance to Morocco on 
enhanced compliance with the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) through legislation; 
technical assistance for a plan to enforce environmental rules in the 
textile sector; and development of a plan to manage waste from olive 
oil factories. The United States Agency for International Development, 
the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the 
Trade and Development Agency and others have been involved in 
implementing these activities. Officials from U.S. and Moroccan 
agencies will present and discuss their activities at the Working Group 
meeting. The 2010-2012 Plan of Action will seek to build upon the 
progress made in the previous Plan of Action and will detail 
cooperative activities in four main priority areas: Institutional and 
policy strengthening; biodiversity conservation and improved management 
of protected areas; improved private sector environmental performance; 
and environmental education, transparency, and public participation in 
environmental decision-making and enforcement.
    For more information, interested parties are encouraged to refer 
to: (1) The U.S.-Morocco Joint Statement on Environmental Cooperation, 
(2) the 2005-2007 Plan of Action, (3) Chapter 17 of the Free Trade 
Agreement between the United States and Morocco, (4) the 2004 Final 
Environmental Review of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, and (5) 
the Web site of the Moroccan Ministry of the Environment (French and 
Arabic) which are all available or linked at: http://www.state.gov/g/oes/env/trade/morocco.

    Dated: January 22, 2010.
Willem H. Brakel,
Acting Director, Office of Environmental Policy, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2010-1595 Filed 1-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P
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