Number: 2009-13
WHEREAS, global warming is already adversely impacting fish and wildlife, their habitats, and other natural resources and presents an unprecedented threat to the survival of our natural heritage; and
WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that with a two to four degree Fahrenheit rise in global temperature, 20-30% of species are at increased risk of extinction, and even at increases of less than this amount, ecosystem resilience would be impaired, threatening already imperiled species and habitats; and
WHEREAS, natural resources are the foundation of public health, providing clean air, clean water and protection to people and communities from floods, hurricanes, and other catastrophic weather events; and
WHEREAS, natural resources are the foundation of the American economy, with outdoor recreation, including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, paddling, wildlife viewing, and other activities, contributing over $700 billion annually to the United States economy and supporting over 6 million jobs, and ecosystem services providing far more economic value, estimated to be trillions of dollars annually; and
WHEREAS, Americans have an ethical responsibility to help prevent human-caused extinctions to the extent possible and to remedy and prevent damage to natural resources caused by global warming; and
WHEREAS, federal, state and tribal natural resource and wildlife managers must address the many new threats of global warming while continuing to address ongoing threats to fish, wildlife, and natural resources, such as loss of habitat, invasive species, disease outbreaks, extreme weather events, all of which could be made worse due to global warming; and
WHEREAS, protecting America’s natural resources from global warming will need to be done across ecosystems with inter-departmental and inter-agency coordination and require multi-year studies and projects; and
WHEREAS, the principle of “polluter pays” has been established as the moral and legal guidance in conservation and natural resource protection, ranging in laws from “Superfund” cleanup to the Clean Air Act to the Clean Water Act;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled April 30 – May 2, 2009, in Pittsburgh, PA, calls on Congress and the Administration to enact federal legislation that:
- requires federal agencies to write and implement plans to safeguard natural resources and wildlife from global warming based on best-available science and community values; and
- requires these plans are coordinated among agencies; and
- requires these plans are regularly updated to reflect the best currently available science and local community values; and
- provides Indian tribes the necessary resources and technical assistance to develop and implement plans to safeguard their natural resources and fish and wildlife from global warming based on best-available science and traditional, tribal knowledge; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls on Congress to pass federal legislation that provides annual dedicated funding to federal, state and tribal agencies responsible for implementing the natural resource plans, with funding at a scale commensurate with the scope of the problem and cost of implementing solutions to address climate change impacts on natural resources; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges that funding for implementing plans to safeguard natural resources from global warming be provided in federal legislation that requires a reduction in the emissions causing global warming, such that the entities responsible for global warming pollution provide funding to protect natural resources and wildlife from the impacts of global warming.