294 * Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



further training to officers to address this prob- 

 lem. Developing-country professionals could 

 also be enlisted as environmental officers 

 within the missions. This action would be con- 

 sistent with recent agency emphasis on reduc- 

 ing the U.S. presence in AID missions for eco- 

 nomic as well as security reasons. 



Taking advantage of expertise that exists 

 within other U.S. agencies (e.g., National Park 

 Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nation- 

 al Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

 Smithsonian Institution, and Peace Corps) 

 could also significantly enhance the effective- 

 ness of development assistance. The agency al- 

 ready has a Resource Services Support Agree- 

 ment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

 to provide forestry expertise and services. Such 

 mechanisms can be used to establish a formal 

 agreement with agencies such as the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior to provide AID missions 

 with access to conservation expertise. In addi- 

 tion, other agencies such as the Peace Corps 

 are already supporting some projects in the field 



that focus on biological diversity. Increased col- 

 laboration between AID and the Peace Corps 

 can be mutually beneficial. 



Section 119 states the following: 



. . . 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 [NGOs] 

 that are active in the region or country where 

 the project is located. 



A number of NGOs are already working with 

 AID in developing capacity to maintain diver- 

 sity in developing countries. These include im- 

 portant initiatives in the areas of conservation 

 data centers, of supporting development of na- 

 tional conservation strategies, and of imple- 

 menting field projects. AID is also using a pri- 

 vate NGO to maintain a listing of environmental 

 management experts. Such partnership could 

 continue to be encouraged by Congress through 

 oversight hearings, for instance. 



THE ROLE OF MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS 



Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are 

 the largest providers of development assistance 

 and have considerable influence on develop- 

 ment policy and financing. In this capacity, 

 they are uniquely situated to influence environ- 

 mental aspects of development (40). In 1983, 

 the World Bank, the Inter-American Develop- 

 ment Bank, the African Development Bank, and 

 the Asian Development Bank in 1983 loaned 

 at least $20 billion to fund projects in develop- 

 ing countries— nearly three times the amount 

 committed by the U.S. Agency for International 

 Development, the largest bilateral agency. 

 Funds loaned by MDBs are supplemented by 

 larger amounts from governments of recipient 

 countries, and many projects receive cofinanc- 

 ing from other development agencies and pri- 

 vate banks. For every dollar loaned by the 

 World Bank, for example, more than 2 addi- 

 tional dollars are raised from other sources (41). 



Many countries modify their development 

 policies in response to MDB suggestions and 



pressures. An important element is the devel- 

 oping-country sector work of the MDBs-policy 

 documents produced as background material 

 to help identify priorities in lending. 



MDB's influence on policy can be the single 

 most important influence in many countries on 

 the development model adopted (41). Because 

 agricultural, rural development, and energy pol- 

 icies can have profound effects on habitats, 

 diversity in developing countries can be sig- 

 nificantly affected by MDB policies. 



The most immediate effect of MDBs on main- 

 taining biological diversity may be support for 

 creating protected areas. The World Bank has 

 been the leader among development banks in 

 this area— the bank has financed the protection 

 of 59,000 square kilometers in 17 countries. It 

 has funded entire conservation projects — for 

 instance, a wildlife reserve and tourism project 

 in Kenya. More often, it has included conser- 

 vation components in larger projects— for in- 



