Panama
Assistant Administrator Franco Showcases Biodiversity
In Congressional USAID Trip to Panama
Adolfo A. Franco, USAID assistant administrator for the Latin
America and Caribbean bureau, hosted a Congressional delegation
in Panama recently and briefed them on current environmental
and biodiversity activities.
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USAID
Assistant Administrator Adolfo A. Franco tours a
biodiversity project in Panama recently with a U.S.
Congressional
delegation that included Congressman Henry Hyde (R-6)
of Illinois.
(Photo by USAID-Panama)
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The delegation was headed by Congressman Henry Hyde (R-6)
of Illinois, chair of the House International Relations Committee.
Franco took the delegation to several USAID projects, including
the following:
- Chagres National Park -- USAID is working with partner
The Nature Conservancy to preserve the diversity of the
ecosystem in the Chagres National Park so that it will generate
and store quality water for human and industrial consumption,
including Panama Canal operations;
- Camino de Cruces in Soberania National Park – With
the Panamanian Tourism Institute, the project hopes to develop
the park’s eco-tourism potential as a model for protected
areas. The area included a tour of The Peregrine Fund’s
breeding facility for the endangered Harpy Eagle. An estimated
ten birds are expected to be released in the wild this year.
- Regional Visualization and Monitoring System of Mesoamerica
-- With partners that include NASA and the World Bank, the
project utilizes satellite imagery and similar data sources
to monitor and forecast climate as well as ecological changes
to improve environmental and disaster management in Central
America.
“More often than not, today’s biodiversity programs
in the Americas and the Caribbean not only are preserving
our natural resources and species but also making significant,
long-term changes in human behavior as well,” Franco
said. “We’re already seeing how these projects
are contributing to making hemispheric relations not only
more neighborly but also more democratic and secure.”
Also on the trip with Congressman Hyde was Congressman Howard
Coble (R-6) of North Carolina, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega
(D) of American Samoa, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-48) of
California and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-4) of Minnesota.
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