Number: 1999-08
WHEREAS, unplanned development and sprawl has significant environmental and economic impacts that threaten drinking water, fragment or destroy natural habitat, and cause other serious environmental degradation; and
WHEREAS, new housing tracts and commercial development are continuing to move at alarming rates even deeper into environmentally sensitive and valuable areas; and
WHEREAS, the acceleration of sprawl has resulted in increased social, environmental, and economic costs which have largely been unaccounted for and heretofore passed on to society as a whole including the undermining of property values of existing homes and commercial properties; and
WHEREAS, the true cost of addressing environmental issues associated with wetlands, endangered species, and air and water quality caused by development, specifically of undeveloped land, may appear to be burdensome in the short-term but prove to be a wise investment environmentally, socially, and economically in the long-term; and
WHEREAS, many development projects cannot be undertaken and accomplished without the financial mechanisms offered by private financial institutions; and
WHEREAS, since 1983 the National Wildlife Federation has promoted reforms in the lending practices of multilateral development banks, especially to ensure that they include analysis of all environmental factors and mitigation of impacts, and to increase the effective participation of people affected by such loans; and
WHEREAS, private financial institutions should only lend to and for projects that are both financially and environmentally sound, taking into account the possibility of cost overruns, delays, disruptions, and clean-ups that would likely occur and diminish economic returns; and
WHEREAS, since 1997, the National Wildlife Federation has promoted reforms in the lending and investing practices of private financial institutions, calling upon these providers of capital to integrate environmental issues into their core financial decision-making processes when lending or investing in development projects, and calling for the development and implementation of environmental guidelines and policies that will be used to guide sustainable development; and
WHEREAS, both public and private financial institutions should be responsible for ensuring that environmental impact assessments and other necessary studies are used and that environmental laws and regulations are obeyed; and
WHEREAS, the participation and cooperation of private financial institutions and other businesses in encouraging opportunities for investments in economically profitable and environmentally sound projects will likely accelerate the development and acceptance of products, techniques, and practices that promote renewable energy and conservation, innovative architectural and construction methods that reduce impacts on surrounding natural habitat, and sound and light pollution reduction technologies, for example; and
WHEREAS, private lenders are often the only party able to provide incentives to minimize overall energy use, resulting in reduced pollution of the air, water, and land by encouraging the use of existing technologies – the use of which may also be in the economic interest of the builder, the owner, and the occupant; and
WHEREAS, private financial institutions, in conjunction with other entities, can assist in the reduction of sprawl by redeveloping appropriate abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial sites where development is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination; and
WHEREAS, new development can be brought to market more quickly and economically within areas where effective consensus plans for conservation and development have been adopted; and
WHEREAS, failing to include the full marginal cost of development provides it artificial competitive advantages over projects in existing urban areas, where transactions are often made more difficult and expensive by issues of environmental liability;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in its Annual Meeting assembled March 18-21, 1999, in Houston, Texas, hereby calls upon private lenders and investors operating in the United States and participating in development projects to include specific environmental criteria related to the preservation of natural resources, including wetlands, threatened and endangered species, habitats, and water quality, and other issues to discourage sprawl by including the full assessment of environmental cost in private real estate transactions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon banks to participate in statewide planning efforts which involve voluntary action at the local level and require consensus among development, environmental, community, and local government interests to provide more comprehensive environmental and economic inputs regarding new development; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon private sector lenders and investors to devote more financial resources to environmentally sound investments and loans; to revitalize existing central business and residential areas and make efficient use of land that has already been developed, including a strong focus on job creation and improved housing in established areas; to establish a legal and procedural framework that will create the certainty desired and send accurate economic signals to investors; and to build a broad-based constituency that includes environmentalists, community organizations, businesses, and other appropriate parties to combat sprawl; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon private sector lenders and investors to provide financial incentives for projects that employ renewable energy sources, promote energy conservation, and advocate the use of architectural and construction designs and materials that reduce the consumption of raw materials and that are energy efficient.