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Rafe Pomerance, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Testimony before the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C., June 10, 1997

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment on H.R. 901. I am here today because your bill includes 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. As recently as April, 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.

Consequently, the Department of State strongly opposes H.R. 901, which addresses concerns related to U.S. sovereignty that are not grounded in the actual provisions or implementation of existing international agreements or programs. This legislation would add a level of political and bureaucratic regulation that is unnecessary and runs counter to the U.S. role in both local and global environmental cooperation.

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 148 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.

U.S. Man and The Biosphere Program

Man and the Biosphere (MAB) 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 a wholly independent U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program. With the understanding that even though U.S. MAB would no longer affiliate with UNESCO, 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 collaboration and support of fifteen 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 particularly promotes the development of scientific 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 -- making MAB a leader in efficient data exchange among protected areas. MABFauna and MABFlora are highly successful database products produced by U.S. MAB for managing 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.

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, a typical reserve is 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.

U.S. biosphere reserves generally consist of a "protected area" and a "managed use area". The protected area comprises little-disturbed tracts of natural habitat that are, in many cases officially designated wilderness areas (within national parks or national forests). In the biosphere reserve context, the remainder of the park or national forest is considered a "managed use area" with recreational, economic, and educational uses. Moreover, managers of biosphere reserves are encouraged to work with farmers, ranchers, and other members of communities in the areas surrounding the biosphere reserve to develop cooperative programs in conservation education and resource management.

At this time, nominations for U.S. biosphere reserves are prepared by locally established committees. These local committees usually coordinate the initial planning for the nomination effort. Attached to each nomination package are letters of concurrence from local interest groups and local and state government representatives. Landowner approval is required for a property to be included. The nomination package is submitted for approval to the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program, based at the U.S. Department of State, here in Washington, D.C.

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 U.S. Biosphere Reserve program focuses on generating, sharing, and disseminating reliable scientific information collected from the reserve network.

The global network of biosphere reserves includes many of the world's outstanding protected areas. These are 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 this type of recognition.

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

• A project on temperate forest that has assisted the USDA-Forest Service in predicting likely changes in the southeastern forests as the result of human activity.
• Another project that fostered an agreement between Arizona and the adjacent Mexican state of Sonora to promote cooperation between the biosphere reserves of the region. This cooperative decree was recently signed by Arizona Governor Fife Symington and his counterpart from Sonora.
• A project by the community of Pittman Center, Tennessee, that developed a local tourism plan that incorporated the cultural and natural heritage of the area.
• A 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. Finally, the Man and the Biosphere Program has a significant role in international scientific exchange. U.S. biosphere reserve sites have become destinations for land managers and scientists from around the world interested in studying how the interaction between people and protected lands is being managed in the U.S., which has the best-managed system of protected areas on earth.

H.R. 901

H.R. 901 appears to be based on a mistaken belief that the World Heritage Convention and the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program threaten U.S. sovereignty, mandate land-use regimes, and in certain instances restrict the rights of private landowners. 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 regulates the management of these sites or affects the land-use rights of the country in which they are located. Moreover, local initiative plays a key role in the nomination process for U.S. sites, involving local stakeholders, state and local governments, and the federal government.

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 did not proceed. 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 indicating that past listing of any biosphere reserve or World Heritage site has harmed the value of adjacent private property.

The provisions in Section 5 restrict the nomination, classification, or designation of federal lands for conservation purposes (absent specific statutory approval) under international agreements. 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 be read to hamper the United States ability to fully participate in existing legal bilateral and multilateral agreements.

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 the Everglades National Park as a World Heritage site and biosphere reserve has added no management restrictions and yet has provided worldwide recognition of this important natural system that is a source of pride as well as economic opportunity to a range of local stakeholders. Moreover, U.S. participation and leadership in the World Heritage Convention and identification of U.S. biosphere reserves encourages other nations to similarly cherish and care for significant sites in their countries.

In conclusion, the Department of State strongly opposes H.R. 901. Recognition of a U.S. site as a World Heritage site or a biosphere reserves in no way undermines U.S. sovereignty over such sites. Such recognition does not impose additional land use restrictions over such areas or the area surrounding the recognized area. H.R. 901 creates unnecessary bureaucratic burden on U.S. government agencies. We believe H.R. 901 runs counter to the U.S. role in both local and global environmental cooperation. Furthermore, the bill greatly impedes the nomination of new sites under the World Heritage Convention, attacks existing biosphere reserves, and essentially ends the future nomination of new biosphere reserves for recognition by UNESCO.

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

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