[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 26 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SAVING THE IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an issue which, 
while not one that you would likely read about on the front page of the 
newspapers, is important nonetheless. It concerns the alarming rate of 
deterioration of the habitat of the Irrawaddy Dolphin in Southeast 
Asia. Recent statistics indicate that there are fewer than 100 
Irrawaddy left in the world.
  The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has placed the 
Irrawaddy Dolphin on its list of critically endangered species. The 
primary reasons for this sharp decline include destructive fishing 
practices, such as the use of dynamite or electric current, and mercury 
runoff from gold mines. These practices are leading to the extinction 
of an entire species.
  Why should we care? Perhaps a quote from President John Kennedy 
provides the best answers to this question. In a 1963 address at 
American University, President Kennedy said ``. . . in the final 
analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small 
planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's 
futures, and we are all mortal.''
  I know every Member of the Senate wants to make the world a better 
place for our children and grandchildren. I am almost as certain that 
ensuring the survival of the Irrawaddy dolphin, an extraordinary 
species, would be something that we could do to help achieve this goal.
  Congress has spoken on this issue. In the Senate report that 
accompanied last year's Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, Congress 
directed the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, to 
devise a strategy to help reverse the habitat decline of the Irrawaddy 
dolphin.
  Some important nongovernmental organizations are already working on 
this issue, including the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bronx 
Zoo in their Species Survival Program partnership. I hope USAID's 
strategy, which is due shortly, will be a first step in forming a 
public-private partnership that will prevent the Irrawaddy dolphin from 
going the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon.
  Once a species is gone, it is gone forever. We need to be sure this 
does not happen.

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