Number: 1984-17
WHEREAS, the United States is the single most important donor to such international institutions as the World Bank, the Inter‑American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank (known as multi‑lateral development banks [MDBs]); and
WHEREAS, one of the main purposes of these banks is to assist the economic betterment of less developed countries and help to raise the standard of living of their peoples by such projects as road and dam building, clearing of tropical rain forest for mono‑cultures and farm developments; and
WHEREAS, conservation and sound management of natural resources are vital to long‑term sustainable economic development, in such areas as soil, watershed and fisheries management and prevention of deforestation and desertification, public health and conservation of genetic resources; and
WHEREAS, the chief executives of each of the multi‑lateral development banks declared that “in the long run environmental protection and economic and social development are not only compatible but interdependent and mutually reinforcing” and that “international development assistance institutions have … a responsibility to ensure the sustainability of the economic development activities financed by them;” and
WHEREAS, each of these banks pledged in the United Nations “New York Declaration” of February, 1980, to: “ensure integration of appropriate environmental measures in the design and implementation of economic development activities;” support natural resources conservation and management projects; support training of both bank and borrowing‑country personnel in environmental areas; and to systematically examine all development activities to ensure compliance with the conservation principles and recommendations of the United Nation’s Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972); and
WHEREAS, although the World Bank has been a leader in beginning to implement this pledge, nevertheless, none of the MDBs has made the adequate staffing, policy and procedural commitment necessary to fulfill its obligations under the New York Declaration; and
WHEREAS, the actual progress of the MDBs in meeting the goals of the New York Declaration has been the subject of special Congressional oversight hearings and of an investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department; and
WHEREAS, improvement in living standards of many developing countries, through ecologically sustainable programs, for example in Central America, has implications for the national security of the United States;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 15‑18, 1984, in Atlanta, Georgia, calls upon the multi‑lateral development banks to fulfill the pledge they made in the New York Declaration; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the United States Government, through the Treasury Department, to use its voice and vote, on the Board of Directors of each bank, to vigorously promote: 1) sound natural resources management policies and projects to complement long‑term economic goals; and 2) internal changes within the banks concerning lending procedures, shaping of economic development strategy, and appropriate staffing levels, to enable the banks to carry out the pledge of the New York Declaration.