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CEMEX Celebrates 100 years in Davenport

Santa Cruz, Calif.- August 30, 2006

Co. Partners with Conservation International to Highlight CA & Environmental Hotspots at Book Event

In celebration of its 100 year anniversary in the Davenport community and its commitment to resource stewardship, CEMEX, Inc. teamed with Conservation International at a premiere book event held on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. The ceremony, at the Chaminade, showcased Hotspots Revisited, the 12th edition in CEMEX's conservation book series, to area community leaders.

"CEMEX is committed to preserving and improving the ecology of sensitive and threatened natural habitat areas. We partner with conservation organizations, such as Conservation International, to make a difference and expand global understanding of these important issues," said Gilberto Perez, President of CEMEX USA.

Hotspots Revisited highlights 34 regions where 75 percent of the world's most threatened mammals, birds and amphibians survive within habitat that covers just 2.3 percent of the Earth's surface. One of the hotspots featured in the book includes the California Floristic Province, a varied ecosystem stretching approximately 1,100 miles through California, southwestern Oregon and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. The region contains a wide variety of ecosystems, including sagebrush scrub, prickly pear shrub land, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, juniper-pine woodland, alpine, riparian, cypress, mixed evergreen, Douglas fir, sequoia and redwood forests, and coastal dunes and salt marshes.

Nearly 400 specialists contributed to the four-year-long hotspots reappraisal. Their analysis has resulted in an increase in the number of hotspots from 25-to-34. From their reassessment, the conservation experts report how conservation dollars can be prioritized to do the most good.

"The biodiversity hotspots are the environmental emergency rooms of our planet. This latest assessment underscores the value of the hotspots concept for defining urgent conservation priorities," said Russell A. Mittermeier, President of Conservation International (CI) and co-editor of the new book. "We applaud CEMEX for stepping forward and supporting efforts to save these irreplaceable storehouses of Earth's life forms."

The CEMEX conservation book series is the result of a dynamic partnership with Conservation International and other global conservation groups to identify and protect the world's most threatened and precious wild spaces. Since the inception of the conservation book program in 1993, CEMEX has donated these works to organizations like Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union, supporting an array of conservation projects. In addition, more than 175,000 books have been donated to universities, research institutions, governments and libraries worldwide.

CEMEX is also committed to supporting conservation locally. For 100 years, the CEMEX cement plant at Davenport has been a careful guardian of the Santa Cruz north coast and 10,000 acres of forestland.

  • In 1981, the CEMEX Davenport plant was completely remodeled to a become state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly facility. The plant continues to seek out new technologies and ways to improve. This is part of the CEMEX commitment as a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
  • The CEMEX plant implemented a unique habitat conservation plan for threatened California red-legged frogs on their property and now is working to develop a program to protect the dusky-footed woodrat, which was only recently discovered as a local inhabitant.
  • CEMEX Davenport is certified as a "Smart Wood" program by the Rain Forest Alliance, meaning that the plant's forestry operations meet all of the Alliance's high environmental standards concerning wildlife habitat, endangered species and fisheries protection. CEMEX plants 20,000 redwood seedlings every winter on their Davenport property to maintain and promote sustainable forestry.
  • CEMEX's property serves as a vital watershed for Davenport and New Town, providing for their raw water needs from San Vincente and Mill Creeks. Every year, CEMEX Davenport contributes $160,000 to fund half the cost for Santa Cruz County to treat the community's water and sewage, and provides up to $25,000 to fund capital projects related to the system. The plant also recycles waste water in its manufacturing process.

Hotspots Revisited was produced by CEMEX, one of the world's largest cement manufacturers, in collaboration with CI, Agrupación Sierra Madre, and the University of Virginia. It was edited by Russell Mittermeier, Gustavo A.B. da Fonseca, Michael Hoffmann, John Pilgrim, Thomas Brooks, Patricio Robles Gil, Cristina G. Mittermeier, and John Lamoreux. The book, which features nearly 300 photographs, also includes contributions from 197 of the specialists who participated in the hotspots reanalysis. It can be purchased on www.conservation.org.

Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity in the biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity wilderness areas and key marine ecosystems. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents. For more information about CI, visit www.conservation.org.

CEMEX is a growing global building solutions company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Commemorating its 100th anniversary in 2006, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry solutions and efficiency advancements and to promote a sustainable future. For more information, visit www.cemexusa.com.

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