In this briefing, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez—Minister of the Environment and Energy for Costa Rica—detailed Costa Rica's Environmental Services Payment Program. As Minister Rodriguez described, the program is a true success story of sustainable development implementation, resulting in improved forest coverage of over 50% during the last decade. Minister Rodriguez addressed the government's focus on enhancing the development of private markets for the environmental services provided by forests, such as biodiversity protection, greenhouse emissions reduction and water resources protection.
 

This briefing featured Dr. Steve Osofsky, DVM of the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Field Veterinary Program. Dr. Osofsky discussed the critical role non-governmental conservation organizations play, in collaboration with the public health and agricultural sector, to more completely protect the public from the threat of a pandemic. Learn more about WCS' Field Veterinary Program.

This reception featured Rob Walton, Chairman of the Board of Wal-Mart Stores. Mr. Walton spoke about ways in which Wal-Mart is actively seeking to streamline their business practices and minimize its impact on the environment. As Mr. Walton described, the company believes that with its size and global presence, it has a duty to the communities and world within which it operates; being a good steward of the environment and being an efficient and profitable business are not mutually exclusive, but rather they can be mutually supportive. Learn more about Wal-Mart's Environmental Strategy.

This briefing featured Dr. Laurie Marker, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. During both a Congressional Dinner and Staff Luncheon Briefing, Dr. Marker detailed successful CCF sustainable utilization programs involving cheetahs and the surrounding farming populations in Namibia. Namibia is home to the largest concentration of free-ranging cheetahs in the world, no doubt in part to the success of Dr. Marker's work over the past twenty-five years.

Dr. Mike Fay, a world-renowned explorer and conservationist, returned to Africa in June 2004 to begin a "MegaFlyover" of the continent. During this seven month survey across much of the African continent, he traced levels of human influence over Africa's key eco-regions and began to develop long-term conservation strategies as he created an unprecedented record of human impact on the land. In September of 2005, National Geographic magazine dedicated the entire issue to this story.

On September 26th, Dr. Fay spoke to Members of Congress and their spouses about his vision of international aid in the 21st Century. Dr. Fay argued that International aid to Africa needs to be based, in part, on sustainable development and natural resource management. Proper natural resource management, he contends, will lead to conflict resolution and future security in areas where resource exploitation has produced suffering, bloodshed and ultimate impoverishment (as individuals, groups, and cultures vie against each other for the ever vanishing resources needed for their very survival). Exporting natural resource management in the end, Fay argues, is equally important as exporting liberty, democracy, or capitalism. On September 28th, he continued his "Megaflyover" briefing for Staff Members on Capitol Hill.

This briefing featured members of the Kayapó Indians of Brazil's southeastern Amazon. Kayapó territories cover over 30 million acres, including the world's largest single tract of protected tropical forest. The Kayapó have an impressive record of protecting their traditional lands; however, encroachment along their western front now threatens their capacity to maintain their traditional way of life. Conservation International (CI) has joined the Kayapó in an effort to strengthen their territorial protection system by helping them to establish sustainable economic alternatives to logging while protecting their cultural heritage. Learn more about Conservation International's initiative with the Kayapó Indians of Brazil.

This event featured successful public-private partnerships in the stewardship of natural resources, particularly those of JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. Rick Lazio, a former Congressman and current Executive Vice President for JP Morgan Chase, detailed the company's Environmental Initiatives. Larry Linden, an Executive of Goldman Sachs Corporation, highlighted the company's partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in the establishment of a 680,000 acre nature reserve on the island of Tierra del Fuego, Chile.

This briefing featured Juan Jose Dada, head of TNC's Private Land Conservation Program in Latin America. Dr. Dada discussed how conservation by private action is working in Latin America, highlighting examples of success stories in Mexico, Costa Rica & Ecuador. As he described, TNC's Private Lands Conservation Program is an innovative tactic that leverages the increasing interest of the private sector in conservation by developing policies & incentives to facilitate conservation on private lands. Click here to learn more about TNC's Private Land Conservation Program.

According to recent reports, the entire tiger population in Rajasthan's Sariska tiger reserve in India has disappeared. This tiger crisis was discussed in a briefing conducted by Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Dr. Ullas Karanth, who recently finished a countrywide survey of tigers in India in order to determine their numbers and habitat needs. Dr. Karanth discussed the impact that growing human and livestock populations, poaching, over hunting of prey and the lack of trained field professionals is having on the dramatic decline of tigers in India. Dr. Karanth also detailed long term solutions to reviving the diminishing tiger population. Link to more information on saving wild tigers from WCS.

This briefing discussed the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Upper Parana Atlantic Forest (UPAF) Conservation Program in Paraguay. Aida Luz (Lucy) Aquino, Coordinator of the UPAF Conservation Project in Paraguay, led the discussion. Of the 15 ecoregions, which make up the Atlantic Forest Ecoregion Complex of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, the UPAF Ecoregion contains the largest remaining intact forests. However, only 7.8% of this ecoregion's forests remain intact today. WWF has identified deforestation in Paraguay, a country with one of the highest deforestation rates in Latin America, as one of the ecoregion's top priorities. Causes of deforestation in Paraguay include corruption, extreme poverty and a lack sustainable farming techniques. Aquino detailed the different strategies and challenges with identifying, establishing and protecting key conservation areas in Paraguay, such as national parks, private lands and corridors. Link to more information about the Atlantic Forest Ecoregion Conservation from WWF.

This briefing featured Dr. John G. Robinson, Senior Vice President and Director of International Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society . As an expert on the bushmeat crisis, Robinson provided a presentation detailing the current situation. While people have always hunted wildlife for food, illegal over-hunting in parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa is threatening many species, and destroying traditional livelihoods and cultures. Robinson highlighted the increased commercialization of the bushmeat trade, which has now become a worldwide phenomenon, even reaching into the United States. The access created by logging roads and the breakdown of civil society in many parts of the world is helping to fueling this trade. Link to more information on the bushmeat crisis from the Bushmeat Crisis Taskforce.

These briefings marked the launch of the 2005 International Conservation Budget (ICB). The ICB is an annual joint publication of four U.S.-based international conservation organizations, which together form the International Conservation Partnership: Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund. The ICB describes the various U.S. Government programs that support international conservation. Bill Archer, former Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means and Joint Committee on Taxation, briefed attendees on the importance and necessity of strong U.S. leadership in the stewardship of natural resources for habitat and bio-diversity protection, poverty reduction, economic development and regional security. Dr. Michael Fay spoke to attendees about his experiences during his recent MegaFlyover expedition and the necessity for the U.S. to play a stronger role in leading international conservation efforts. Link to the 2005 ICB.

At this event World Wildlife Fund's Chris Weaver gave a briefing on the Living in a Finite Environment (L.I.F.E.) program. This program, administered by WWF on behalf of the Namibian government with support from USAID, helps villages in northern Namibia to organize conservancies to sustainably manage their resources. Almost 12,000 Namibian people now participate and benefit from these conservancies, which comprise of almost 13 percent of the total land mass of Namibia. These conservancies not only preserve large areas of high-quality habitat for Namibia's internationally significant populations of elephant, rhino and roan antelope, but also provide wildlife generated income to the communities from eco-tourism and regulated sport hunting. Link to more information on the L.I.F.E. Program.