32 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



programs. This Food for Work program has 

 conducted reforestation and resource manage- 

 ment projects in which laborers are paid with 

 food and with wages generated from the resale 

 of U.S. commodities. Hence, Public Law 480 

 funds are already being used to finance projects 

 that promote diversity maintenance. More 

 could be done if Congress amends Public Law 

 480 specifying that funds could be used for 

 diversity conservation projects. 



Other existing funding mechanisms could be 

 redirected to include funding of diversity 

 projects. In response to funding cuts at AID, 



conservation groups have proposed certain 

 ways to provide money for biological diversity 

 projects. One such mechanism is the use of eco- 

 nomic support funds for additional development 

 assistance programs. Though primarily used 

 for other purposes, economic support funds are 

 the most flexible of AID's funds, with the fewest 

 restrictions on their use. Therefore, Congress 

 could direct the General Accounting Office to 

 examine such funding mechanisms and assess 

 their feasibility as funding sources for mainte- 

 nance of biological diversity. 



