Sec. 1501. Findings and statement of policy
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Congress finds the following: Sound natural resource management, healthy levels of species diversity, and functioning natural ecosystems are vital to sustainably reducing poverty in developing countries. Natural ecosystems, when properly managed, provide economic value to local communities in the form of water, food, medicine, energy, household products, tourism and trade, as well as contributing to the global common good. Nature provides important services for human well-being.
For example, forests, floodplains, and wetlands are a natural bulwark against catastrophic flooding and severe drought, and coral reefs and mangroves reduce the impact of large storms on coastal populations, thereby reducing damages from extreme weather and the need for disaster assistance. Natural ecosystems serve as a buffer between wildlife and human populations, minimizing the transmission of highly infectious diseases from animals to people. Many of the most commonly prescribed medicines in the United States are derived directly from natural compounds or patterned after them.
The preservation of natural areas and wild species offers the world a rich source of potential cures and treatments for disease and pain. The survival of many animal and plant species is endangered by poaching and excessive harvesting, by the presence of toxic chemicals in water, air and soil, and by the destruction of habitats. Degradation of land and water resources impedes efforts to improve agricultural productivity, which will be critical to feeding the world’s growing population and is a key engine of economic growth in developing countries.
The construction of dams and expansion in biofuel production in developing countries without the necessary environmental safeguards or consultation with the local populations threatens the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide for purifying, storing, and delivering water. The continuing and accelerating alteration, destruction, and loss of forests and other natural habitats in developing countries can result in— shortages of fuel; loss of biologically productive wetlands; siltation of lakes, reservoirs, and irrigation systems; floods, soil erosion and landslides; decimation and dislocation of indigenous peoples; extinction of plant and animal species; reduced capacity for food production; loss of genetic resources; desertification; increased greenhouse gas emissions; and destabilization of the earth’s climate.
Women often are especially vulnerable to the impact of natural resource degradation and climate change because they produce most of the food and collect most of the water and firewood in many countries. Mismanagement and unregulated exploitation of natural resources has fueled conflict and corruption in many developing countries. Illicit trade in natural resources not only robs poor countries of valuable economic and environmental resources, but often perpetrates political instability and human rights abuses, including sexual violence and the use of children as soldiers, bonded labor and sex slaves.
Illegal logging, fishing, and mining in developing countries flood the international market with low-cost products that undercut the competitiveness of responsible companies in the United States. Economic growth generally raises energy consumption, and often results in increased emissions of greenhouse gases as well as greater pollution of air, land, and water. If current trends in the degradation of natural resources in developing countries continue, they will severely undermine the best efforts to meet basic human needs, to achieve sustained economic growth, and to prevent international tension and conflict.
Animals, including livestock, companion animals, and wildlife, are important to human economic, environmental, and social development as well as to human quality of life. Animals and the people who depend upon them in developing countries will be particularly vulnerable to climate-related natural disasters unless adaptation and mitigation measures are utilized. The world faces enormous, urgent, and complex challenges in conserving and protecting natural resources while fostering economic development, requiring extensive and sustained cooperation between the United States, developing countries and the international community as a whole.
It is the policy of the United States to work in cooperation with the international community to reduce biodiversity loss and the degradation of natural ecosystems, adapt to and mitigate climate change, and integrate principles of environmental sustainability into policies and programs for international development.