Although the Peace Corps was founded about 50 years ago, 2004 marked the first entry of the agency into Mexico. This initiative originated in 2001 when Mexico President Vicente Fox and U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Partnership for Prosperity, an agreement that envisioned several initiatives to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
In June 2006, Peace Corps/Mexico signed a partnership agreement with the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the first SEMARNAT Volunteers began their service in January 2007. Currently, there are around 75 Volunteers working throughout most of central Mexico including the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Queretaro, Guanajuato, and Guadalajara.
The environmental program here in Mexico has the following program goals:
- Environmental Education: Organizations and communities will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of environmental education and awareness programs
- Sustainable Livelihoods: Organizations, CBOs and small businesses will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of sustainable livelihood programs
- Natural Resources & Environment Management: Organizations, CBOs and communities will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of recommended protected area, natural resources and environment management programs
- Administration, Information, Communication & Technology: Organizations will improve their performance, planning, implementation of administrative, information, and communication processes, tools and technology to manage Mexico’s environment
For more info, you can consult the FAQ page of the Peace Corps Mexico website.
For more info on Peace Corps in general, click here.
[All borrowed from mexico.peacecorps.gov]
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