July 27, 2001

• El Carmen Project
• The objective is to preserve the region's rich environment
• Reintroduce species to the area

As part of CEMEX'S conservation and environmental policies, the Company presented today the El Carmen Project. The Project's goal is to preserve the natural environment of one of Northern Mexico's richest ecological reserves.

Located in Coahuila State, just south of the U.S. border and east of the Chihuahua Desert, El Carmen is a joint effort between CEMEX and the Sierra Madre Association to protect one of Mexico's most pristine ecological zones. The area is renowned for its large prairies, which are bordered by impressive mountains, pine and oak forests, as well as a desert with the largest variety of cactus.

This region has historically been an important mining and forestry center that maintains its natural richness and scenic beauty as a result of its isolation and small population. Such characteristics have fostered the preservation of animals such as the El Carmen White Tail Deer, the Javalina, the Mule Deer and 70 other mammal species, as well as another 50 reptiles and amphibians.

Nonetheless, during the 20th Century several species in the region became extinct, such as the Phonhorn Antelope and the Bighorn Sheep, which were last seen in the 1940s.

Presently, the region's most notable species is the Black Bear, Mexico's largest carnivore, which has found sanctuary on this land as well as the conditions it needs to reproduce and expand its population towards the United States.

The Project includes the preservation of the bio-diversity of 55 thousand hectares of land, of which 60% are part of the Wildlife Protection Area of the Maderas de El Carmen.

Several other actions geared toward the preservation of the region will be conducted through the identification of natural richness in terms of animal species, ecosystems and biological corridors, along with the history and culture of the area. The Project seeks to restore wilderness areas damaged by human activity, and native flora and fauna that had become extinct or are in danger of becoming so.

"Our vision of El Carmen project is to preserve this variety of pristine ecosystems, as well as to reintroduce several large mammals into the area that have become extinct and to repopulated the area. At the same time, we want to guarantee that they can continue to exist and reproduce in order to inhabit this and other areas", said Armando J. García Segovia, Executive Vice President of Development at CEMEX.

"We know the biological importance of the region and are conscious of its frailty and the richness of the Chihuahua Desert. It is one of the most diverse deserts in the world in terms of species and a place where wild life has one of its last safe havens," added García Segovia.

Moreover, García Segovia explained that the importance of the region has been recognized by organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, the North America Environmental Cooperation Commission, The Nature Conservancy, Conabio, Birdlife International, Pronatura, Profauna, the Maderas de El Carmen Museum, the Sierra Madre Association and Unidos para la Conservación (United for Preservation).

All of the measures taken thus far to preserve El Carmen are supported by an Advisory Board composed of members with a long and well-know track record in the preservation arena. The Board members are the following:

Gerardo Ceballos
Researcher from the Ecology Institute at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Felipe Delgado
President of Pronatura, North East

Exequiel Ezcurra
President of the National Ecology Institute of Semarnat

Kathryn S. Fuller
President of the World Wildlife Fund, United States

David Garza Lagüera, Alberto Garza Santos, Mauricio Marroquín
Maderas de El Carmen Museum

Carlos Manterola
Director of Unidos Para La Conservación

Russell Mittermeier
President of Conservation International

Guillermo Osuna
President of Fundación Holística de Recursos

Patricio Robles Gil
President of Agrupación Sierra Madre and Unidos Para La Conservación

Jorge Soberón
Executive Secretary of the National Commission of Bio-diversity Knowledge and Use

It is the profound desire of all those involved in the El Carmen Project that the related activities stimulate environmental awareness and promote a strong sense of bio-diversity responsibility.

CEMEX is one of the three largest cement companies in the world, with approximately 78 million metric tons of production capacity. It is also the world's largest trader of cement and its leading producer of white cement. CEMEX is engaged in the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and clinker through operating subsidiaries on four continents. For more information, visit www.cemex.com.