8 



of the resources left behind by the mining companies. Mining, as 

 an extractive industry, can be very damaging to the environment. 

 We do not have a lot of programs in Africa focused on these areas. 

 We have limited resources, about $80 million currently, to focus on 

 all of the environmental problems in Africa. So we do not have the 

 resources to put toward programs in this particular area. 



I guess I would add that it is not simply a question of resources. 

 These are areas where, within the agency and our global bureau, 

 to some extent within our own Africa bureau, we do have some in- 

 tellectual knowledge of these issues. So within the national envi- 

 ronmental planning process, we do try to bring what we know to 

 these areas. And to the extent that these are problems in a particu- 

 lar country, we do work with host governments to identify donors 

 who can address those problems. 



Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you. 



Congressman Hastings. 



Mr. Hastings. Thank you very much. Madam Chairlady. 



Just as a preface, when Congressman Johnston and Payne, my- 

 self and several of the staffers, some of whom are in the room, trav- 

 eled to Africa, we saw several research projects that AID was in- 

 volved in that demonstrated rather substantial successes. At the 

 same time, some projects such as in Niger 



Harry, you may remember, we saw this weather project there 

 and since that time, the head of that country that Harry and I met 

 with has been emptied out because of conflict. And I am sure now 

 that that project is still running but so important. 



I say that also in the context of drought and studies of drought 

 and how environmental degradation comes about without clear 

 data in that arena that could help to avoid it. 



But you know something? After all is said, we live in a world of 

 people, and Americans assist in leading the charge, in being in love 

 with ivory and with wood and with leather and any number of 

 other things that hungry people do not think in terms of the abun- 

 dance that they have not had ever running out. And I can only use 

 by way of analogy my own life as a child in pristine Florida — and 

 I will be 60 my next birthday — Harry is going to be a little older 

 than me, but he knows pristine Florida as well — and, honest to 

 goodness, as a child where animals ran in the streets and you could 

 go to the lake and catch fish, I just never thought that that lake 

 would ever be dead or that the animals would ever run out. 



My point is, education is going to be key and USAJD projects in- 

 volving education of the people in that capacity are really, really 

 important. Because where people are at war, where people are hun- 

 gry, where people have greedy leaders, the likelihood is not very 

 strong that we are going to have a whole lot of environmental sen- 

 sitivity and I think all of us understand that. 



That said, my one question, Madam Chairlady, directed to our 

 witness is, in light of the budgetary constraints — and AID has 

 taken its share of the responsibility in making adjustment — are 

 there suggested environmental programs that may be cut? 



I notice, in responding to the Chairlady, you did not say specifi- 

 cally where these things were going to come from and I now, since 

 this is an environmental hearing, ask you pointedly, do you plan 



