2008 APHA Border Tour (UCSD SBRP, USP and CILAS)

UCSD’s Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP), Urban Studies and Planning Program (USP), Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies (CILAS), the Environmental Track of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the Coastal Training Program of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve organized and led a tour on Sunday, October 26th for 60 participants of the APHA conference: “Public Health without Borders” (2008 Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, CA October 25-29, 2008). The tour provided a first hand look at environmental problems associated with the U.S.-Mexico border fence and the rapid rise of irregular settlements in the City of Tijuana. The tour focused on: (1) the region’s environmental and public health challenges, and (2) the effects of cross-border flows of wastes on efforts to protect transboundary watersheds and coastal ecosystems. The 60 participants included faculty, researchers, doctors, nurses, environmental and public health scientists, health care providers, government officials, industry leaders and community-based partners. The tour was captured in film for inclusion in a documentary about global environmental health.