[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 19 (Monday, May 12, 1997)]
[Pages 690-692]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica

May 9, 1997

    Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President, for delivering on the 
rainforest. [Laughter] You know, in my part of the Unit

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ed States, the children are raised with an old proverb that has come 
true today. The proverb is, ``you must be careful what you ask for in 
life, because you might get it.''
    Well, Dr. Macaya, to Joaquin Viquez--didn't that young man do a 
great job. You should be very proud of him. He was terrific. [Applause] 
Thank you.
    To all of those who have spoken before and who have come here, and 
let me thank the members of my Cabinet and administration who are here, 
and also the members of the National Park Service. Hillary and I have 
tried to make sure we're at at least one of our national parks every 
year, and I think it's fair to say that they are the most popular public 
servants in the United States, so it's nice to see them. In the case of 
Mr. Findley, someplace besides Yellowstone. I'm glad you're all here. 
Thank you all very much for what you do.
    Most of what needs to be said has been said. I come here to 
emphasize the importance of the forest that surrounds us, the chain of 
life not only in Costa Rica and Central America but to all the world. We 
know that the rainforests of the world provide us with a good deal of 
our oxygen and enormous resources coming out of the plant and animal 
life they contain. We know that the forest helps us keep our climate 
stable to preserve our soils, to protect our rivers. It nurtures plants 
that provide food and clothing and furniture and medicine. And from the 
stunning quetzal bird to the stealthy jaguar, we know that the marvelous 
animals must be preserved for all to see.
    There is a new understanding today in the world between the bonds 
that connect human beings and their natural environment. We know we have 
to preserve them, and we know that in the end economic development 
itself cannot occur unless the environment is preserved. That is the 
lesson of the Rio Earth Summit 5 years ago, the driving force behind the 
CONCAUSA Alliance between the United States and Central America that 
President Figueres discussed, and also the driving notion behind the way 
we want to integrate this hemisphere--not just in trade and economics 
but also in education and health--and finally, in common cause to 
sustaining the treasures we see around us here today.
    Costa Rica is showing the way. You heard President Figueres say that 
now more than one-quarter of its land is being protected. The unique 
natural resources are generating jobs and income. Just before I came up 
here, Secretary Babbitt gave me the figures on Costa Rica's tourism 
income because of the commitment the people of this country have made to 
preserving and protecting the natural environment. We now know we have 
to do this not only in our hemisphere but around the world.
    You know, the examples that the President cited I thought were quite 
important. We are pursuing ways to reduce greenhouse gases. There is 
some doubt about exactly what increased greenhouse gas emissions are 
doing to the climate, but no one doubts that they're changing the 
climate, and no one doubts that the potential consequences can be very 
profound and severe.
    Almost 3 years ago, the Vice President of the United States, Al 
Gore, and President Figueres signed an agreement that will help United 
States companies greenhouse gas emissions by investing in environmental 
projects in Costa Rica.
    Today, there are more than a dozen of these joint projects all 
across Central America, promoting solar energy in Honduras, geothermal 
energy in Nicaragua, forest management in Belize. Now the carbon 
certificates created by the Government of Costa Rica and the United 
States companies will provide a new way to finance these investments. 
Proceeds will go to clean power plants, protecting or planting forest, 
launching other programs that pay environmental dividends. This is a 
long way from the philosophy which prevailed in this country, in our 
country, and indeed throughout the developed and the developing world 
just a few years ago.
    From electric buses, which the President pointed out, to wind-driven 
power plants, Costa Rica's ambitious plans prove that we can have clean 
air and renewable energy in ways that create jobs here and in our 
country. That bus, I believe, was made in the Vice President's home 
State of Tennessee. And he asked me to say he appreciates it. [Laughter]

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    Third, let me say a special word of appreciation for something the 
President mentioned, and that is the work that is being done with the 
rainforest and with the space program by Dr. Franklin Cheng Diaz to deal 
with Chagas disease, which kills 20,000 people in Latin America every 
year. The idea of combining what we know about space and what we find in 
the rainforest to make people have better and healthier lives is another 
stunning reminder that we destroy these resources at our peril.
    Last, let me say, we're finding new ways to preserve our natural 
heritage. Once, our National Park Service worked with Costa Rica to help 
to set up your incredible network of parks. Now the Costa Rican Park 
Service is returning the favor by helping us to use your computer 
software in ways that will enable our park rangers at Yellowstone, which 
is the shining diamond of our park system, to catalog and preserve its 
natural wonders.
    Soon after we complete this moment, Secretary Babbitt and Minister 
Castro will sign an agreement strengthening our cooperation for the next 
century. We're also working together to help other countries take better 
care of their wildlife, train professionals to manage fisheries in 
Argentina, run national parks in Paraguay, teach conservation in 
Guatemala. Now we have to work across national lines to protect the 
habitat of the songbirds, the sea turtles, the other creatures that 
migrate between our shores, and to stop the illegal and deadly trade in 
endangered species.
    Yesterday in San Jose, President Figueres, our fellow leaders, and I 
pledged to make sustainable development a cornerstone of our relations. 
It will be part of the 1998 Summit of the Americas in Santiago and, 
eventually, the foundation of a larger global effort.
    We must ban leaded gasoline everywhere, not just in Costa Rica, and 
control pesticides in our hemisphere, and reach a global agreement to 
phase out the most dangerous toxic chemicals. We have to protect our own 
forests and work with the United Nations to develop a strategy for the 
sustainable management of others around the world. And we must meet the 
challenge of climate change, regionally and beyond our hemisphere.
    Together, we can make this a very historic year, Mr. President. As 
you know, the United Nations is having a special session next month on 
the environment. I am pleased to be leading America's delegation to the 
U.N. I hope many other world leaders will be there. Together, we need to 
reaffirm the spirit of Rio and lay out the concrete steps we're going to 
take to move ahead to make the preservation of the global environment 
and sustainable development the policy of every nation on Earth.
    We are seeking to build a world where people live in the 21st 
century in harmony, not at war with each other; when they recognize that 
they have more in common than what divides them; when they no longer 
seek to elevate themselves by demeaning other people. That kind of world 
will only occur if we are also generous, wise, and good to our natural 
environment, and where we do not expect today's growth to threaten 
tomorrow's survival. That is my commitment. That is Costa Rica's 
commitment. Let us make sure we realize it.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.
    Before the paper is too wet, we have to ask Secretary Pena, 
Secretary Babbitt, and Minister Castro to come sign our agreements on 
electric transport and parks on behalf of our two nations. And we hope 
that the pens still work. [Laughter]

Note: The President spoke at 11:07 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Dr. Gabriel Macaya, rector, University of Costa Rica; Mike Findley, 
superintendent, Yellowstone National Park; Joaquin Viquez, student who 
introduced the President; Dr. Franklin Cheng Diaz, director, Laboratorio 
de Propulsion Avanzada Especial de la NASA; and Costa Rican Minister of 
Natural Resources, Energy, and Mines Rene Castro. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.