ENVIRONMENT: Clinton Wants More Money for Tropical Forests, and other “Green” Issues

By Jim Lobe Reprint | | Print |

Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 2000 (IPS) - President Bill Clinton is asking Congress to sharply increase spending on protecting tropical forests and other programmes of global impact, including climate change and population.

In the latest initiative, the White House announced Friday that it wants to almost double US funding – to 150 million dollars – on conserving the world’s tropical rainforests beginning in the year 2001.

The initiative, called “Greening of the Globe,” is designed to provide host developing countries with improved means, including satellite mapping and training in forest management, to protect the world’s remaining tropical forests, particularly in Southeast Asia, South America, and East Africa.

Environmental groups Friday hailed the plan as a major step forward. “This is a credible downpayment by this administration on its environmental commitments,” said Steve Schwartzman, a senior scientist and specialist on the Amazonian forests at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) here.

He said the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which will administer most of the money if it is passed by Congress, has developed a good network of environmental partners in South America who stand to benefit from the increased funding.

Friday’s announcement came three days before the administration formally unveils its 2001 foreign-aid request, of which the ‘Greening’ Initiative will be a part.

On Thursday, the administration said it will propose 4.0 billion dollar in spending to curb greenhouse-gas emissions that most scientists believe are responsible for “global warming.” If approved, the funds would increase spending to combat global warming by more than 40 percent over current levels.

The package includes 2.4 billion dollars in incentives to spur cleaner energy use both at home and abroad and 1.7 billion dollars to fund global climate-change research.

Of course, whether these proposals are all approved by Congress remains to be seen.

Clinton could face a strong fight over his new global-warming initiatives, particularly among Republicans lawmakers, who hold a majority in both houses of Congress, as well as Democrats from coal- and oil- producing states.

They have vowed to defeat any effort by Clinton to seek the ratification of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialised countries, including the United States, to substantially reduce their greenhouse emissions over the next ten years, arguing that such cuts would have a devastating and disproportionate impact on the US economy.

Both issues, however, have strong public support, a crucial factor in an election year.

Tropical forests are currently disappearing at the rate of some 33 football fields a minute, or a combined area of a territory the size of Greece each year, according to the United Nations.

The leading threats to the rainforests include illegal logging and mining and the clearing of land for herding or subsistence or plantation agriculture.

“The disappearance of the tropical forests is really one of the great environmental crises facing the planet,” according to Jim Leape, the WWF’s executive vice president. “Until now, the US has not been doing its part.”

Erick Brownstein of San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network (RAN) also hailed the package as a “nice step in the right direction,” but added that it “falls extraordinarily short of what is needed to actually solve the problem.”

Of the 150 million dollars to be included in the ‘Greening’ package, 100 million dollars will be used by USAID to help some 60 developing countries address the causes of deforestation and boost conservation efforts, according to the White House. Funding will be targeted at those areas which are considered especially rich in biological diversity and that face significant threats.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the world’s leading exporter of tropical timber, will be the main target. Home to over ten percent of the world’s primate species and among the most biologically diverse in the world, Indonesian forests are fast burning up – and blighting much of Southeast Asia with smoke in the process.

The primary culprits are logging operations and the conversion of forest to palm-oil plantations, according to experts.

In South America, USAID’s efforts will focus on protecting national parks like Bolivia’s Madidi National Park, which by itself shelters some 1,200 species of birds.

A recent report released by the World Bank and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that the vast majority of national parks and other protected areas in 10 key developing countries, were not receiving sufficient protection from local or national authorities. The proposed US initiative will focus on upgrading the capacity of conservation organisations, local park managers, and communities to sustain the forests.

In East Africa, much of the initiative will focus on Madagascar, according to the report.

The remaining 50 million dollars in the programme includes 37 million dollars – almost three times current funding – to help finance debt-for-nature swaps which permit countries to reduce bilateral debt owed to the United States in exchange for conserving forests. Priority countries where these have been used so far have included Bangladesh, Peru, and the Philippines.

Some three million dollars – a 50 percent increase – is to be used to help African and Asian countries protect their diminishing elephant herds, rhinoceroses, and tigers. Ten million dollars – more than three times current funding – is earmarked for the US Forest Service to work with and train their counterparts in developing countries.

In addition, a new programme led by USAID and the National Aeronatics and Space Administration (NASA) will use satellite imagery to compile the first comprehensive maps of the world’s tropical forests. These in turn should be valuable tools for monitoring and reporting on changes in forest cover as they occur, according to environmental groups.