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Major Issues
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Global Environment
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Other Foreign Policy Efforts
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Global Environment
Responsible stewardship of the Earth's
environment is critical to the survival of mankind and all species.
From land and water degradation to global warming to the
unsustainable exploitation of finite natural resources, the
environmental challenges facing our planet today are enormous.
Senator Leahy has long believed that the United States
must be a leader in biological conservation, and over the years he
has fought hard to secure funds for critical environmental
programs. |
| As Chairman of the
State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, Leahy
has worked to secure additional funds for the protection of
tropical forests and wildlife. Leahy wrote the legislation
to create the U.S. Agency for International Development's
Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative, a regional effort to
protect the Amazon that encompasses nine countries and has
global, environmental, health and
economic importance that dwarfs any other forest or river system in
the world.
He has also strongly
supported the Congo Basin Forest Partnership in Central
Africa, where logging, hunting and slash and burn
agriculture threaten critical ecosystems in the world's
second largest area of tropical forest. Leahy sponsored
amendments to provide funds for programs to protect
endangered species, particularly great apes in Africa and
Indonesia.
It is not only our planet's freshwater
systems, forests, and endangered land animals which must be
protected. The pollution and over fishing of the Earth's
oceans is becoming a global crisis. Leahy will continue to
support efforts to protect, conserve and restore our oceans
and coastal ecosystems. |
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A Drop of
Safe Water: Senator Leahy (D-Vt.) receives a Water
Advocate award for his role in appropriating $300
million to fund the Water for the Poor Act from
Melanie Nakagawa of Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC). The funds will be used primarily to
deliver safe drinking water and sanitation to people
in the developing world. Photo Credit: Water
Advocates |
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