26 



and we view the Lusaka anti-poaching accord as a step in the 

 right direction. Our Fish and wildlife Service will continue 

 to provide (and hopefully to expand) assistance to African 

 states trying to rationally and humanely manage their elephants. 



The Fut ur e 



We still have a lot to learn about solving environmental 

 problems, at home or abroad, but certain basic principles are 

 now clear. For example, we have learned that the solution to 

 environmental problems is almost always about balancing 

 legitimate interests. That is what the global conventions — 

 including Climate Change, Desertification, and others — 

 attempt to do at the highest level. But the same principle 

 needs to be applied at every level — regional and national as 

 well as global -- if paralysis is to be avoided. We know that: 



-- There will be no such as thing as environmental progress 

 without an economic foundation; 



-- The most difficult arguments usually involve short-term 

 benefits (such as cash for resource exploitation, or the 

 poverty-driven need to misuse marginal land) , versus 

 preservation of resources on a sustainable basis with 

 attendant long-term benefits. 



— Meeting basic human needs (for health, education and 

 human rights) is an essential foundation for sustainable 

 development ; 



Unfortunately we also know that short-term economic 

 problems/opportunities usually resonate a lot louder, 

 especially in desperately poor countries, than what may happen 

 in the future. 



That is only one reason why external assistance will be 

 essential for some time to come to enable African countries to 

 manage their resource base sustainably, deriving present 

 livelihood without compromising the ability of future 

 generations to do the same. 



At the moment our ability to support the programs outlined 

 above, both bilateral and multilateral, is under severe 

 budgetary threat. It is important to realize that these 

 programs are an investment in the future, with multifaceted 

 benefits . 



Community participation is a fundamental principle of 

 modern natural resource management policy. By encouraging 

 participation at the village level we can help Africans to 

 safeguard their environmental heritage at the same time that 

 they are building democratic institutions, attacking the major 

 cause of hunger, and promoting economic growth. If this 

 "quadruple whammy" effect can be achieved on a broad enough 

 scale, it will insure that Africa avoids endemic ecological 

 catastrophe and that man and nature come into balance. There 

 is no question that we can help make it happen. 



In closing I would like to express my appreciation to you, 

 Madame Chairman, and to the Committee, for this opportunity to 

 appear before you. 



