28 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



and 117, respectively). Clearly, these concerns 

 are interrelated, although not synonymous. It 

 is questionable whether such a distinction is 

 appropriate within the context of development 

 assistance legislation. An argument can be 

 made that U.S. development assistance should 

 approach diversity maintenance within the con- 

 text of conservation— that is, as a wise use of 

 natural resources, as elaborated in the World 

 Conservation Strategy. In doing so, the objec- 

 tives of diversity maintenance and development 

 interests could be made more compatible. 



Finally, although Section 119 speaks of bio- 

 logical diversity, the thrust of the legislation ad- 

 dresses a narrower set of concerns — that of spe- 

 cies extinction. While certainly a prominent 

 concern, and perhaps even the central motiva- 

 tion behind the legislation, it fails to address 

 the broader set of U.S. concerns over diversity 

 loss in developing countries. As noted earlier, 

 a focus on unique populations would be a more 

 appropriate, though more problematic, ap- 

 proach. This is particularly important with re- 

 gard to preserving genetic resources of poten- 

 tial benefit to agriculture or industry, which 

 is the most strongly argued rationale for con- 

 serving biological diversity. Existing legislation 

 does not specifically identify these interests. 



Option 8.1: Restructure existing sections of the 

 Foreign Assistance Act to reflect the full 

 scope of U.S. interests in maintaining bio- 

 logical diversity in developing countries. 



The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) comes 

 up for reauthorization in 1987. Major restruc- 

 turing of the act is already being considered. 

 Revamping could provide an opportunity to re- 

 cast certain provisions of the legislation to bet- 

 ter account for U.S. interests in maintaining 

 diversity in developing countries. 



Providing for conservation of natural re- 

 sources and the environment in general, and 

 of biological diversity and tropical forests in 

 particular, are important considerations in a 

 restructuring of FAA. Less clear, however, is 

 whether the language and disaggregation of 

 these interests is appropriate in the context of 

 bilateral development assistance. 



One specific consideration could be to resolve 

 potential conflicts of interests that exist in the 

 language of Section 119— that of emphasizing 

 the need to establish protected areas and poach- 

 ing controls without specific reference to im- 

 pacts on indigenous populations. Congress 

 could correct this potential conflict by adding 

 language to Section 119 such as, "Support for 

 biological diversity projects should be consist- 

 ent with the interests, particular needs, and par- 

 ticipation of local populations. " It is widely rec- 

 ognized that the viability of protected areas is 

 largely contingent on these provisions. Adding 

 such language would thus provide greater con- 

 sistency within the objectives of FAA as well 

 as specify criteria that heighten chances of 

 project success. 



In addition. Congress could recast the lan- 

 guage of existing legislation to provide a fuller 

 accounting of U.S. interests in maintaining di- 

 versity in developing countries. Such changes 

 could expand from a focus on endangered spe- 

 cies to the loss of biological systems, includ- 

 ing ecosystems and genetic resources. Such an 

 effort might also emphasize practical aspects 

 of conservation initiatives of particular inter- 

 est to developing countries and stress the goal 

 of promoting ability and initiatives of the coun- 

 tries themselves. 



Finally, Congress could combine those sec- 

 tions of FAA that deal with natural resources 

 and environmental issues to reflect the inter- 

 relatedness of these amendments. Provisions 

 could be made to account for specific concerns 

 over species extinctions currently emphasized 

 in Section 119. But approaches and concerns 

 reflected in these amendments are probably 

 best considered together. Provision of funding 

 within such a restructuring would also be im- 

 portant. 



FINDING 9: AID could benefit from additional 

 strategic planning and conservation expertise 

 in promoting biological diversity projects. 



Congress has already taken steps to earmark 

 funds for biological diversity projects within 

 aid's budget. The existing mechanisms within 

 the agency to identify and promote diversity 



