This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Administrator J. Brian Atwood
"Toward Sustainable Forests"
Washington, D.C., April 2, 1997
U.S. Agency for International Development
I am very pleased to be here today among our partners in
forestry and development. As I look around the room, it is nice
to see several Ambassadors and embassy representatives from
countries where the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) has major programs. Welcome.
I am reminded of the words of the great American
conservationist, John Muir, who once wrote, "When we try to
pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else
in the universe." These words still ring true today, as we
increasingly acknowledge the deep interrelatedness between the
challenges we are facing in the environment and in the
international community as a whole.
We have a come a long way in recognizing that we must
look at all parts of the puzzle if we are to make development
actually work.
No environmental program will succeed if a country's
economy stagnates and falls backward. No improvements in
public health will be meaningful if a nation's political system
drives its people toward corruption and conflict. No part of a
society's development will stand alone.
It is this understanding of the holistic nature of the
challenges before us that demands an unprecedented level of
collaboration and partnership to manage forest resources
effectively. That is why I am so happy to see a diverse group
here today: our OECD donor colleagues; representatives from
the forest products industry with whom we work closely; national
and international conservation leaders; and my colleagues from
the U.S. Government, particularly the Departments of Agriculture
and State. It is a great pleasure, Deputy Secretary Rominger, to
welcome Chief Dombeck to a new role in this partnership.
Chief, I hope we will have the benefit of your strong and
personal engagement in international forestry.
I think that we all take great pride in knowing that when we
hear of the successes and achievements in international forestry of
the United States Forest Service, or the Department of State, or
USAID, it is a sign of a living partnership in which each agency
is a critical and essential element... A partnership that is good for
the United States, good for U.S. taxpayers, good for American
companies and consumers, and good for the forests of the world.
We each have unique expertise and a singular and
fundamental role to play in this partnership. It is critical to get
the right policy regime at an international level; it is critical to set
a good example with U.S. domestic policy toward forestry and to
provide technical expertise where it is helpful. But it is necessary
to put our principles into action in real places with real people
and real forests.
And that's what I want to focus my comments on today.
We all know the intense pressures that are put on the forests of
the world. That threat has never been so severe, nor the
consequences of inaction so obvious. Each day, we lose treasures
of immense importance to humankind.
As the excellent report from the World Resources Institute
detailed just this month, all countries face challenges in forest
management. As UnderSecretary Wirth so clearly articulated,
however, we do not believe that a global convention on forests
would help meet these challenges.
In that regard, let me expand on several points.
First, we will not address the fundamental threats to forests
in isolation from other fundamental issues of sustainable
development. That is the lesson of John Muir. That is the lesson
of Rio and Agenda 21. That is the lesson of thirty years of
experience in USAID.
Over the past six years, we have invested more than half a
billion dollars in forest management and conservation partnerships
in some 59 countries. Where we address issues of sustainable
forest management in an integrated way, we find success. Where
forestry issues are addressed in isolation from the issues of
poverty, population growth, democratic participation and
decision-making, and the building of human capacity, success is
far less likely.
Second, we must engage all elements of the private sector as
essential partners in sustainable development. While it remains
necessary for governments to act when the private sector does not
choose responsible courses of action, sustainable development is
much more within our reach when we work together to align
private investment, consumer choices, and government action.
Wise environmental policy is wise economic policy, and both are
necessary to enrich the quality of human life.
Finally, the ultimate and primary responsibility for wise
employment of natural and environmental resources resides in the
citizens and government of each nation. Commitment to a new
convention will not substitute for a real commitment to wise
stewardship of our resources. Let us focus on doing what we
already know how to do, and on taking the actions we know we
should take.
This is a time for action, not activity;
Let me illustrate with some examples:
* In Russia -- with more than 20% of the world's primary
forests -- we are engaged with the Russian Federal Forest
Service and private sector colleagues to prevent and control
catastrophic forest fires, and to promote reforestation.
* In the Amazon Basin, we work closely with Brazil to
develop reduced-impact harvesting practices and in critical
research efforts to help us understand the full value of
forests.
* In the Congo Basin, with 40 percent of the forested area in
sub-Saharan Africa, we are working with Governments and
non-governmental organizations to improve the capacity to
manage forests, and to monitor and react to changes in the
health of the resource, efforts that parallel those of the
World Bank and the GEF.
* In the Philippines, where community forestry has become
the keystone of a national strategy for sustainable forests, we
are joining with NGOs and governments at all levels to
increase tree cover, reduce erosion, and raise incomes.
* The Parks in Peril program has strengthened the
infrastructure and management of 26 forested parks in Latin
America covering almost 6 million hectares.
* In Cambodia, we join with our Country partner, and the
IMF, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture
Organization, and others to halt the rampant deforestation
and destruction of ecosystems on which Cambodia's
agriculture and fisheries depend.
* On the island of Sulawezi, in Indonesia, we have worked
with citizens, and federal, and provincial governments to
pioneer participatory planning for resource management in
Bunaken national Park. Also in Indonesia, we are funding
and leading a consortium which includes the US Forest
Service, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, and the Center
for International Forestry Research to monitor forest cover
and biodiversity in order to help understand and mitigate the
impacts of climate change.
* In India, our investment in community organization, policy
formulation and technology transfer has culminated in over
20,000 villages and more than 5 million people actively
engaged in protecting over 2 million hectares of public forest
land.
My point here is simple. To protect and manage forests, we
must encourage people to protect and manage forests.
As you can see, I am proud of all we are doing, and yet we
-- all of us -- must do more. We gather today, five years since
the convening of the nations of the world in Rio where we jointly
pledged to pursue the principles of sustainable development. In
some areas we have done well and in others we have failed, but
in all areas the challenge continues.
We all know what is at stake: forests that provide energy
and food to millions; forests that are a great source of medicine,
economic opportunity, material and fiber.
It is good to be here today among those of kindred spirit,
who join in accepting the challenge of managing forests wisely.
The actions we take -- or do not take -- will reverberate for
generations to come.
It is my pleasure now to introduce our next speaker, Michael
Dombeck, who was named Chief of the Forest Service on
January 6, 1997.
Dr. Dombeck gained appreciation for natural resources as a
young man growing up in Wisconsin. First as a fishing guide for
11 summers, and later in his studies as an undergraduate and
doctoral student, Dr. Dombeck pursued his interest.
As a member of the Forest Service for 12 years he applied
his expertise to effective land management. Since coming to
Washington, he has applied his energy and fresh perspectives to
the Bureau of Land Management. His two main objectives have
been to create a long term vision to improve the health of the
land and to reinvent that agency so that functions are streamlined
and customers better served.
As the head of another federal agency that also has worked
hard to reinvent itself, I understand that is no easy task. It
requires patience, perseverance and hard work. Dr. Dombeck
has also shown the leadership to make it happen.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 18, 2001
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