STATEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR presented to THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS by Michael J. Bean October 8, 1985 7.178 The Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audubon Society appreciate this opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee on Public Lands concerning the international conservation programs of agencies under its legislative jurisdiction. We welcome the Subcommittee's interest in this matter both because there are major environmental problems outside our borders that need more attention and because there are significant opportunities for the Interior Committee and the agencies under its jurisdiction to aid in the resolution of those problems. Because this is a new subject for this Subcommittee, it may be appropriate to emphasize some rather basic and fundamental points. The first is that there are in fact many very grave environmental problems beyond our borders and that these can - 1 We can significantly and directly affect our interests. attribute the marked recovery of the bald eagle, the osprey, the brown pelican, the peregrine falcon, and other birds to the single act in 1973 of banning the pesticide DDT, yet many of those same birds face a renewed threat from DDT and other hazardous pesticides as they migrate through neighboring countries that have become the new markets for these deadly products. As yet another example, painful and slow as our own effort to come to grips with the problem of acid deposition has been, we now realize that our own situation vis a vis Mexico may be comparable to that of Canada vis a vis us; just as Canada fears damage to its eastern forests and lakes from our power plants, we now fear damage to our great parks and alpine lakes of the West from copper smelters in Mexico. Finally, we have had for nearly seventy years a major national commitment to the conservation of migratory birds, yet the destruction of forest and aquatic winter habitats in Central and South America on which many of those same birds depend may eventually bring about their collapse in much the same way as an earlier American generation witnessed the collapse of a once superabundant passenger pigeon. The great strides that our nation has made over the past several decades in cleaning up its air and polluted waters, protecting its forests and wildlife, slowing the erosion of its soil, and preserving its areas of spectacular scenic value have by and large not yet been replicated in most of the developing world. We are accustomed to thinking of our environmental problems as serious, but solvable with the right mix of determination and effort. From the point of view of those in much of the rest of the world, their problems appear more serious and less solvable. In fact, however, there is much that can be done and much that we can do here to help in the solution of environmental problems abroad and thus protect our own natural resources. The second basic point to be emphasized here is that there are currently in place institutional mechanisms and legal authorities through which the United States can help in the resolution of the developing world's environmental problems. Indeed, in the case of the developing nations of the Western Hemisphere, a treaty negotiated some forty-five years ago committed the United States and seventeen of its hemispheric neighbors to cooperate, through scientific and technical assistance, information exchange and other means, in the establishment of national parks, national reserves, nature monuments, and strict wilderness reserves, the protection of migratory birds, endangered species, and other wild animals and plants, and the control of international trade in protected animals and plants. Based in part on the 1940 Western Hemisphere Convention and an earlier bilateral treaty for the conservation of migratory birds, the United States and Mexico established in 1975 a "Joint Committee on Wildlife Conservation", which meets annually to review progress on a variety of joint projects relating to endangered species, migratory birds, wildlife research, wildlife introductions, law enforcement, training and education, and other topics. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is a global treaty through which ninety nations cooperate in the regulation of international trade in endangered species. Though the CITES treaty has a very limited and specific purpose, it has helped create opportunities for further cooperation on a wide range of other environmental issues. Each member country has designated a "scientific authority" and a "management authority" to implement the CITES agreement. Frequently, these institutions have other, broader, environmental responsibilities in their respective countries. The biennial meetings of the CITES parties and the occasional meetings of its specialized committees provide the opportunity for more regular and frequent contact between environmental officials of this nation and their counterparts from both the developed and developing world than perhaps any other setting. Thus, they create the opportunity for discussions leading to cooperation on a broad range of environmental issues. In addition to these formal legal authorities, there are opportunities to work through the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The IUCN is a unique international conservation organization with governmental and non-governmental members. It cooperates with government agencies worldwide to plan and carry out scientifically based conservation activities. It has particular expertise in the sustainable use of natural resources; with the United Nations Environment Program and World Wildlife Find it developed the "World Conservation Strategy" for integrating environmental concerns into sustainable economic development. Several agencies of the United States are members of IUCN, including the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration resource The final point to made here is that, relative to the magnitude of the environmental problems of the developing world, the potential impact they could have on our own natural resource concerns, and the great potential for cooperation to address them, remarkably little is being done by our natural agencies to share the talent, technology, and expertise we have gained over the last few decades to help in the solution of those problems. The Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Office of International Park Affairs of the National Park Service are both tiny offices operating on shoestring budgets, yet they are the principal offices concerned with helping the efforts of other nations to protect land and |