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Rafe Pomerance, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Testimony before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate Washington, D.C., February 12, 1998

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment on S. 691 and H.R. 901. I am here today because these bills include specific provisions relating to oversight of the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (known as "the World Heritage Convention") and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program (called "U.S. MAB"). These are initiatives that the Department of State supports, either administratively or financially, or both. They are components in the Administration's international strategy in environmental diplomacy.

As you may know, environmental issues form a cornerstone of United States foreign policy. Modest investments on behalf of the environment, at home and abroad, bring significant payoffs to our national economy, health, domestic environment, and quality of life. In pursuing this mandate, the United States has a strong policy of international engagement on environmental issues. In April of 1997, Secretary Albright stated: "Today, environmental issues are part of the mainstream of American foreign policy."

The World Heritage Convention and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program contribute to this overall mission. Both function well, at minimal cost and with minimal burden on our government and our citizens. Aside from aiding in international environmental diplomacy, they provide economic benefits to the U.S. (especially with regard to tourism), and our U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program provides a valuable framework for international scientific cooperation on the environment.

The Administration is in agreement with the purpose of S. 691 to ensure that the public and the Congress have both the right and a reasonable opportunity to participate in decisions related to the nomination and recognition process for World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves. However, both S.691 and H.R. 901 address concerns that are not grounded in the actual provisions or implementation of these existing international agreements or programs. Both of these bills would add a level of political and bureaucratic oversight that is unnecessary and runs counter to the U.S. role in both local and global environmental cooperation. Therefore, the Department of State strongly opposes both S. 691 and H.R. 901.

World Heritage Convention

The Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is a landmark conservation agreement that helps draw international attention to the unique natural or cultural significance of sites such as the Cathedral of Chartres, the Pyramids at Giza, the Serengeti National Park, the Taj Mahal, and the Grand Canyon.

The United States was the principal architect of the Convention. President Nixon stated at the time:

It would be fitting by 1972 for the nations of the world to agree to the principle that there are certain areas of such unique worldwide value that they should be treated as part of the heritage of all mankind and accorded special recognition as a World Heritage Trust. Such an arrangement would impose no limitations on the sovereignty of those nations which choose to participate, but would extend special international recognition to the areas which qualify and would make available technical and other assistance to assist in their protection and management. [Statement of Richard Nixon, Feb. 8, 1971, in Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. LVIX, No. 1653, 1971, P. 256.]

Following the conclusion of negotiations in 1972, the United States became the first country to ratify the Convention, in December, 1973. The U.S. plays a strong leadership role in the Convention and is currently serving its second six-year term on the twenty-one member World Heritage Committee.

The Convention respects the sovereignty of countries on whose territory World Heritage sites are located. It makes clear that the responsibility for identifying and delineating such sites rests with the national governments that are Party to the Convention. It specifies in article 6(1) that the international community's duty to cooperate for the protection of world heritage occurs within a context of full deference to "the sovereignty of the …[nations]… on whose territory the cultural and natural heritage" is located, and "without prejudice to property rights provided by national legislation."

The World Heritage Convention plays a vital role in environmental conservation and cultural preservation, advances U.S. interests in these global values, and serves as a key element in our international environmental conservation program. With its 152 participating nations, the Convention has the broadest reach of any international conservation treaty. It provides a mechanism for U.S. leadership and influence with many of its international partners.

Under the World Heritage Convention, each nation nominates its own most important natural and cultural sites and pledges to take the necessary steps to preserve and protect them under their own legal systems. The treaty, implementing legislation, and program regulations mandate a process that is orderly, predictable, and exacting, requiring a minimum of more than two years between the proposal of a site and its consideration by the World Heritage Committee.

The U.S. nomination process is clearly delineated in law and regulation (Title IV of the Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 and 36 CFR 73 - World Heritage Convention). Under the regulations, the National Park Service staffs the Interagency Panel on World Heritage, which is advisory to and chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. The Panel normally meets in public sessions to consider proposed nominations and to review completed studies.

Relevant Committees of the House and Senate are notified of all pending proposals and again informed when the Department of the Interior has decided to nominate a property. Over the years, when Members have commented, they have commonly supported proposed nominations in their respective states.

U.S. Man and The Biosphere Program

The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program was established by resolution of the 16th General Conference of UNESCO in 1971 as a voluntary and cooperative science program to promote the study of the interaction of the earth's human and natural systems. The U.S. began to participate in MAB in 1974. When the U.S. left UNESCO in 1984, the Reagan Administration decided to continue to provide funds to allow for an independent U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program. With the understanding that, even though U.S. MAB would not interface with UNESCO as previously, there would be continued cooperation, where appropriate, between U.S. MAB and the UNESCO MAB Program.

In this capacity the U.S. MAB Program continues today, pursuing national and international efforts in cooperative environmental science. The Department of State provides a small administrative Secretariat to coordinate the U.S. Man and the Biosphere program, with the voluntary collaboration and support of about a dozen federal agencies.

At the international level, U.S. MAB promotes pairings of biosphere reserves for comparative study. On a regional scale, cooperation among biosphere reserves is facilitating scientific and technical exchanges that benefit both U.S. and foreign scientists and land managers. It is also providing sites for long-term comparative research on global environmental trends and patterns. The U.S. MAB Program promotes information sharing among MAB sites around the world. U.S. MAB's various software innovations have been adopted in North America, Europe, and Latin America. MABFauna and MABFlora are highly successful database products produced by U.S. MAB for sharing information about plants and animals in protected areas. Another initiative, MABNet Americas, was highlighted by the Bolivia summit on Sustainable Development as a model for integrated scientific data exchange in this hemisphere.

U.S. MAB coordinates the network of U.S. Biosphere Reserves. There has been considerable confusion about the definition of a biosphere reserve. "Biosphere reserve" is a title granted to a protected area or series of protected areas that conduct exemplary programs in conservation, science, and management of natural resources. Biosphere reserves foster cooperation and voluntary implementation of activities that improve the relationship among communities, economic enterprises, and those who manage natural resources. Although U.S. biosphere reserves take various forms, the central reserve is typically synonymous with a national park or national forest. The added recognition as a biosphere reserve provides national and international prestige. At present there are 47 biosphere reserves in the U.S.

At this time, nominations for U.S. biosphere reserves are prepared by locally established committees. These local committees usually coordinate the initial planning for a nomination. Letters of concurrence from local interest groups and local and state government representatives must be attached to each nomination package. Landowner approval is required for a property to be included. Participation in the U.S. Biosphere Reserve program is voluntary and does not alter the rights of private landowners or those of local, state, or national land management authorities.

The global network of biosphere reserves includes areas where national and local commitments have been made to long-term environmental monitoring, interdisciplinary research, and environmental education. As with World Heritage and Ramsar wetlands sites, the MAB sites in the U.S. are managed under the relevant federal and/or state laws and regulations. There is no international regulatory framework. The day-to-day management of these areas does not change because of Biosphere Reserve recognition.

MAB has carried out a range of projects that further U.S. interests:

• A project that brought together policy makers, social scientists and natural scientists to produce specific strategies for restoring a healthy Everglades while also preserving the social and economic structures of South Florida.
• Another project that fostered an agreement signed by the Governor of Arizona and his counterpart from the adjacent Mexican state of Sonora to promote cooperation between the biosphere reserves of the region.
• Another project by the community of Pittman Center, Tennessee, that developed a local tourism plan for the Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve.
• Another project by the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve that is playing a key role in the restoration the Coho Salmon to areas of Northern California.

Continuing international collaborations (mainly with nations in Latin America, Europe, and the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union) are of importance to the Department of State because they further the Administration's goal of fostering wise environmental stewardship around the world while at the same time strengthening relations between the U.S. and key counterpart nations. The Man and the Biosphere Program has a significant role here, especially in international scientific exchange. U.S. biosphere reserve sites are destinations for land managers and scientists from other countries interested in learning how the U.S. manages the interaction between people and protected lands.

S. 691 and H.R. 901

H.R. 901 appears to be based on the mistaken belief that the World Heritage Convention and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program threaten U.S. sovereignty, mandate land-use regimes, restrict the rights of private landowners or exclude the public from the nomination and recognition process. In fact, the main purpose of World Heritage and the MAB Biosphere Reserve Program is to award recognition to sites of exceptional ecological, scientific, or cultural importance. Neither program regulates the management of these sites nor affects the land-use rights of the country in which they are located.

H.R. 901 and S.R. 691 both seek to legislate the process of nomination of World Heritage or Biosphere Reserve sites. In fact, local initiative already plays a key role in the nomination process for U.S. sites, involving local stakeholders, state and local governments, and the federal government. As mentioned earlier, the nomination process for World Heritage Sites is clearly delineated in law and regulation and includes full and appropriate public and congressional participation.

The process of Biosphere Reserve recognition and the functioning of recognized biosphere Reserves is increasingly based on consultation and initiative of local stakeholders, state, and local governments. We believe these initiatives work well and with ample local involvement. In the Catskills there was disagreement about biosphere reserve nomination and as a result the nomination was duly withdrawn. In the Ozarks, there was citizen concern over nomination, and, again, it proceeded no further. The State Department has not received a single letter from any state governor or any local elected official requesting the abolition or de-listing of any U.S. biosphere reserve or World Heritage site. We have received no letters documenting that past listing of any biosphere reserve or World Heritage site has harmed the value of adjacent private property.

It is clear, however, that MAB is often misunderstood. We are committed to both clarifying the program’s operations and ensuring appropriate congressional notification and consultation during the nomination process. We believe that H.R. 1801, submitted by Congressmen Brown and Miller, addresses these issues and provides a good legislation base for improved functioning of U.S. MAB. In addition, the U.S. MAB program has prepared draft guidelines for the nomination of new biosphere reserves as well as draft operational guidelines for MAB which lay out the purpose and clear administrative procedures for U.S. MAB. I would be happy to furnish the Committee with these draft documents. The U.S. National Committee for MAB intends to publish these draft documents in the Federal Register for public comment.

Finally, the provisions in Section 5 of H.R. 901 restrict international agreements generally, with respect to the nomination, classification, or designation of federal lands for conservation purposes. The effects of this more general section are difficult to evaluate. We are concerned that, given the provision’s current breadth, it would likely have unintended impacts that could hamper the United States ability to fully participate in existing legal bilateral and multilateral agreements.

Specifically, we are concerned about the effect of this section on U.S. implementation of and participation in international negotiations relating to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, referred to as the Ramsar Convention. President Reagan submitted this Convention to the Senate, which provided advice and consent to ratification in 1986. The Convention reflects a broad-based concern over the loss of wetland habitats and their dependent resources, and recognition of their vital role in preservation of migratory birds.

Our membership and international participation in the Ramsar Convention provides many benefits. Most prominent is reinforcement of the protection of a whole range of wetland-loving migratory birds, including many important game species (ducks, geese, coots, rails, etc.). The network of Ramsar sites in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico supports safe breeding and wintering sites for these waterfowl and gamebirds – birds that generate significant income in the U.S. through hunting related enterprises as well as those associated with nature appreciation and bird watching.

Like the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention makes clear that the responsibility for identifying and for protecting sites suitable for listing under the Convention rests with the State in whose territory the site is located. It also states that the inclusion of a wetland in the Ramsar list, "does not prejudice the exclusive sovereign rights of the Contracting Party in whose territory the wetland is situated."

Conclusion:

We believe that U.S. participation in the World Heritage Convention and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program serve important national interests and help link national and international initiatives with local stakeholders. Recognition of Yellowstone National Park as a World Heritage site and biosphere reserve has added no management restrictions and yet has provided worldwide recognition that is a source of pride and additional economic opportunity to local people. Moreover, U.S. leadership in the World Heritage Convention and the Man and the Biosphere Program encourages other nations to similarly cherish and care for significant sites in their countries.

In conclusion, the Department of State strongly opposes S. 691 and H.R. 901. Recognition of a U.S. site as a World Heritage site or a biosphere reserve in no way undermines U.S. sovereignty over such sites. Such recognition does not impose additional Federal land use restrictions over such areas or the abutting region. S. 691 and H.R. 901 create unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on U.S. government agencies. We believe both run counter to the U.S. role in supporting both local and global environmental cooperation. Both bills greatly impede the nomination of new sites under the World Heritage Convention and as Biosphere Reserves.

This concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. I will be happy to take any questions that you may have.

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