[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            TROPICAL FOREST CONSERVATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION

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                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2001

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce that I am joined 
by Tom Lantos and 27 of our colleagues in introducing a bill to 
reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA). This 
bipartisan, conservation incentive program helps to protect the world's 
most valuable tropical forests through ``debt for nature'' mechanisms.
  In the 105th Congress I introduced the TFCA with our former 
colleagues Lee Hamilton and John Kasich. It was overwhelmingly approved 
by the House by a vote of 356-61, passed the Senate under unanimous 
consent and became Public Law 105-214. The TFCA was developed with the 
support and input of respected environmental organizations such as The 
Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation 
International. Their support and ongoing commitment to this program are 
appreciated and commendable.
  The United States has a significant national interest in protecting 
tropical forests in developing countries. Tropical forests provide a 
wide range of benefits. They harbor 50-90% of the Earth's terrestrial 
biodiversity. They act as ``carbon sinks,'' absorbing massive 
quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby reducing 
greenhouse gases. They regulate rainfall on which agriculture and 
coastal resources depend, and they are of great importance to regional 
and global climate. Furthermore, tropical forests are breeding grounds 
for new medicines. Twenty five percent of prescription drugs come from 
tropical forests. The United States National Cancer Institute has 
identified over 3000 plants that are active against cancer. Seventy 
percent of them can be found in rain forests.
  Regrettably, tropical forests are rapidly disappearing. The latest 
figures indicate that 30 million acres (an area larger than the State 
of Pennsylvania) were lost each year. The heavy debt burden of many 
countries is a contributing factor because often they must resort to 
exploitation of their natural resources (particularly the extraction of 
timber, oil, and precious metals) to generate revenue to service their 
external debt. At the same time, poor governments tend to have few 
resources available to set aside and protect tropical forests.
  The TFCA addresses these economic pressures by authorizing the 
President to allow eligible countries to engage in debt swaps, buybacks 
or reduction/restructuring in exchange for protecting threatened 
tropical forests on a sustained basis.
  The TFCA is based on the previous Bush Administration's Enterprise 
for the America's Initiative (EAI) that allows the President to 
restructure debt in exchange for conservation efforts in Latin America. 
TFCA expands on the EAI and allows protection of threatened tropical 
forests worldwide.
  The debt for nature mechanisms in the TFCA is an effective means to 
leverage scarce funds available for international conservation. The 
host country places an amount in its tropical forest fund that 
typically exceeds the cost to the Treasury of the debt reduction 
agreement. Furthermore, because these tropical forest funds have 
integrity and are broadly supported within the host country, 
conservation organizations are interested in placing their own money in 
these tropical forest funds producing additional leverage of federal 
conservation dollars.
  Last year, the United States concluded the first TFCA debt reduction 
agreement with Bangladesh. This outstanding agreement will help protect 
four million acres of mangrove forests in that country and the world's 
only genetically secure population of Bengal Tigers. At present, there 
are eleven nations on three continents interested in negotiating TFCA 
debt reduction agreements. Furthermore, President Bush has expressed 
his commitment to the program.
  The International Relations Committee plans to take up the bill very 
soon, so I would like to invite all of our colleagues to cosponsor this 
important conservation measure.

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