Ch. 1— Summary and Options for Congress • 31 



agencies to investigate re-establishing a simi- 

 lar initiative focused on biological diversity 

 projects. 



Section 119 of FAA states: 



. . . whenever feasible, the objectives of this sec- 

 tion shall be accomplished through projects 

 managed by appropriate private and voluntary 

 organizations, or international, regional, or na- 

 tional nongovernmental organizations which 

 are active in the region or country where the 

 project is located. 



A number of nongovernmental organizations 

 (NGOs) are already working with AID in de- 

 veloping capacity to maintain diversity in de- 

 veloping countries. These include important 

 initiatives in the areas of conservation data 

 centers, of supporting development of national 

 conservation strategies, and of implementing 

 field projects. AID is also using a private NGO 

 to maintain a listing of environmental manage- 

 ment experts. Such partnership could continue 

 to be encouraged by Congress through over- 

 sight hearings, for instance. Encouraging joint 

 public-private initiatives through matching grants 

 should also be stressed. 



FINDING 10: A major constraint to developing 

 and implementing diversity-conserving proj- 

 ects in developing countries is the shortage 

 of funds. Present funding levels are insuffi- 

 cient to address the scope of the problem ade- 

 quately. 



Recently passed legislation earmarked $2.5 

 million of AID's 1987 funds for biological diver- 

 sity projects. Given that this amount is intended 

 to be used to address diversity loss over three 

 continents and is guaranteed for only 1 year, 

 its adequacy can be questioned. Faced with 

 prospects of further cuts in an already reduced 

 foreign assistance budget and a shift in the com- 

 position of this budget to proportionally less 

 development and food aid in favor of military 

 aid and economic support funds, it is difficult 

 to see where further funding for diversity main- 

 tenance could be derived. 



Option 10.1: Establish a new account within the 

 AID budget to support biological diversity ini- 

 tiatives identified in the Foreign Assistance 

 Act. 



Sections 117, 118, and 119 of FAA all define 

 congressional interest in conservation as an in- 

 tegral aspect of development. With the excep- 

 tion of the 1987 earmarking of funds for bio- 

 logical diversity, no formal funding source has 

 been attached to these sections. The result is 

 that support for conservation initiatives gen- 

 erally has been weak. Support has been further 

 eroded recently because those functional ac- 

 counts used for conservation projects— Agri- 

 culture, Rural Development, and Nutrition; and 

 Energy, Private Voluntary Organization, and 

 Selected Development Activities— have re- 

 ceived disproportionate funding cuts. 



Congress could define its support for the im- 

 portance of conservation to development by 

 establishing a separate fund, perhaps called an 

 Environment and Natural Resources Account, 

 that could be used by AID to support diversity 

 maintenance activities. Concerns exist that 

 functional accounts generally tend to reduce 

 AID'S flexibility, and consideration has even 

 been given to eliminating them entirely. If estab- 

 lished, however, an Environment and Natural 

 Resources account could be used to define con- 

 gressional concerns in this area. Specific ear- 

 marking for biological diversity could be con- 

 sidered within this new functional account. 



Option 10.2: Amend the Agricultural Trade De- 

 velopment and Assistance Act of 1 954 speci- 

 fying that funds from the Food for Peace Pro- 

 gram (Public Law 480) could be used for 

 projects that directly promote the conserva- 

 tion of biological diversity. 



An existing source of funds for biological 

 diversity projects is Public Law 480 Food for 

 Peace program. Titles I and III make commodi- 

 ties available at concessional rates with long- 

 term, low-interest financing for debts incurred. 

 Recipient countries resell the U.S. commodi- 

 ties and are required by contract to apply part 

 of the currency to self-help projects agreed on 

 between the country and the AID mission. The 

 country can eventually cancel some of its debt 

 by applying equivalent funds to long-term de- 

 velopment projects. Title II provides U.S. com- 

 modities to developing countries in cases of 

 emergency or for nutrition and development 



