[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE TROPICAL FOREST CONSERVATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 7, 1997

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce with my 
colleagues, the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Kasich, and the gentleman from 
Indiana, Mr. Hamilton, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998. 
The purpose of this bipartisan legislation is to rechannel existing 
resources to facilitate debt for nature swaps with lesser developed 
countries that contain some of the world's most biologically diverse 
tropical forests. Now is the time for action.
  Despite all of the controversy over global warming, there is a 
consensus that tropical forests provide a wide range of benefits to 
citizens of the United States and people around the world. Tropical 
forests harbor a major share of the Earth's biological resources, which 
provide the ingredients for life-saving medicines and the genetic 
sources to revitalize agricultural crops that supply most of the 
world's food. They play a critical role as carbon sinks in reducing 
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and moderating potential global 
climate change. And these forests regulate hydrological cycles on which 
far-flung agricultural and coastal resources depend. In short, tropical 
forests are essential to sustaining life, treating deadly diseases, and 
preserving the agricultural economy.
  Tragically, over half of the tropical forests on Earth have 
disappeared and the rapid rate of deforestation and degradation of 
these sensitive ecosystems continues unabated. In the past year alone, 
more than 30 million acres of tropical forests were lost. Such a record 
cannot continue without a dramatic impact on our environment for our 
generation and those to come.
  Many of these biologically rich environments are located in less 
developed countries with significant amounts of U.S. debt. These 
countries have urgent needs for investment and capital for development 
and have allocated a significant amount of their forests to logging 
concessions. Poverty and economic pressures on the populations of 
developing countries have, over time, resulted in clearing of vast 
areas of forest for conversion to agriculture, which is often 
unsustainable in the poor soils underlying tropical forests. Mounting 
debts put more pressure on countries to sell off or convert their 
tropical forests for other uses.
  The Tropical Forest Conservation Act addresses the underlying causes 
of tropical deforestation and gives countries tangible incentives to 
protect their tropical forests.
  The act builds upon the framework of President Bush's Enterprise for 
the Americas Initiative [EAI]. Under EAI, up to $154 million was 
provided to environmental trust funds in Latin American countries to 
protect tropical rain forests through debt for nature swaps.
  The Tropical Forest Conservation Act amends the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 to provide the President authority to: First, reduce debt 
owned to the United States that is outstanding as of January 1, 1997, 
as a result of concessional loans; second, to reduce any amount owed to 
the United States outstanding as of January 1, 1997, as a result of any 
credits extended under title I of the Agricultural Trade Development 
and Assistance Act of 1954; and third, to sell to any eligible 
purchaser, or reduce or cancel, any loan made before January 1, 1997, 
to any eligible country or any agency under the Export-Import Bank Act 
of 1945. Appropriations are authorized for these purposes for fiscal 
years 1999, 2000 and 2001.

  The bill initially targets specific countries and gives the President 
discretion over time to designate countries that meet the criteria for 
designation. It facilitates debt for nature swaps in those developing 
countries that have tropical forests with the greatest degree of 
biodiversity and under the most severe threat. Such countries must also 
meet the criteria established by Congress under the EAI, including, 
among other things, that the government must be democratically elected, 
has not repeatedly provided support for acts of international 
terrorism, is not failing to cooperate on international narcotics 
control matters, and does not engage in a consistent pattern of gross 
violations of internationally recognized human rights.
  Each beneficiary country will establish a tropical forest fund. 
Amounts deposited in the fund will be used to preserve, maintain, and 
restore tropical forests in those countries. There is accountability in 
the process--such funds shall be administered and overseen by U.S. 
Government officials, environmental nongovernmental organizations 
active in the beneficiary country, and scientific or academic 
organizations.
  The goal of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 is to help 
protect the planet's remaining storehouses of biological diversity. 
These forests have a direct impact on U.S. taxpayers--on the air we 
breath, the food we eat and the medicines that are developed to cure 
disease. Action is needed now in these developing countries to address 
the underlying causes of deforestation and environmental degradation so 
that these important ecosystems can be preserved before it is too late.
  This legislation has strong support in the environmental community, 
including Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, and the 
World Wildlife Fund strongly support this legislation.
  We look forward to working with our colleagues on a bipartisan basis 
and with the administration to protect these invaluable resources.

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