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throughout the continent. With financial resources provided by USAID, international 

 PVGVNGO consortia have designed and administered debt-for-nature swaps. These 

 swaps in turn have in turn provided the incentive for the empowerment of local NGOs 

 and grass roots organizations. For example, in Madagascar a trust fund was 

 established by the World Wildlife Fund under the USAID natural resource program. In 

 addition an endowment now being designed with USAID funding will support local 

 educational and research institutions which require long term financial security that is 

 not provided by annual project funding. 



Agenda 21, an outgrowth of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and 

 Development (UNCED) presents a major challenge to implement the general concept of 

 sustainable development in practical, on-the-ground terms. This is a difficult task 

 especially as environmental quality in many African countries is closely linked to 

 poverty, demographics, national and international policies, institutional arrangements, 

 and technology. This condition is further complicated by the fact that environmental 

 degradation constrains and undermines development goals such as poverty reduction and 

 improved public health. USAID has confirmed that, in Africa, environmental 

 stewardship and economic and social development can be mutually reinforcing, and the 

 countries involved can directly affect some of the factors that mediate the relationship 

 between environment and development. 



