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plausible future for Africa? Also, are the more promising cases dependent on special 

 endowments of soil, capital or education and are they therefore limited to a restricted 

 portion of the population? Or have they occurred because of enabling conditions that 

 could be established on a broad scale? 



USAID is optimistic about the future of Africa. With political liberalization and 

 the reform of economic systems, the African entrepreneurial spirit will respond. 

 ISAID's environmental programs are working toward progressive national policies that 

 protect the environment; and, at the same time, focusing on local capacity to understand 

 and implement environmentally sound programs. 



For USAID, the critical environmental questions for Africa relate to the 

 underlying productivity of the continent's resource base, a critical element of long term 

 development. For that reason, L'SAID has focused on programs which support the 

 sustainability of agriculture, tropical forests and the conservation and preservation of 

 biodiversity. 



For the last five years. I SAID has been implementing the Development Fund Tor 

 Africa (DFA). The DFA has given USAID significant flexibility in initiating long-term 

 economic growth programs in Africa. Within the vision of the DFA, environmental 

 sustainability is inextricably linked to development This approach is fully supportive of 



