WWF protection results reported (March 2003) - 生態環境討論

以下是WWF寄來的信
是這幾個月來WWF透過各國網友
對全世界政府機關施壓獲得的保育成果
(letter received on March 13, 2003)

Dear Sean,

You responded as enthusiastically as ever to recent WWF Conservation Action
Network action alerts. Thank you. You can truly be proud of the important
conservation victories you've helped achieve. Below is a summary of recent
campaign results.

FISHING BAN PROTECTS RARE DOLPHIN

紐西蘭漁業部公佈禁止某些漁網的使用，以保護瀕危的Maui's dolphin。

In a wonderful victory for conservation, New Zealand's minister of fisheries
banned certain fishing nets from portions of the New Zealand coast in order to
protect the critically endangered Maui's dolphin. The decision in early 2003
followed a deluge of nearly 15,000 letters sent by Conservation Action Network
members to the fisheries minister. Although more protections are needed, the
ban is a critical step in conserving this rare marine mammal.

FUNDING APPROVED FOR PROTECTION OF RARE SPECIES AND HABITATS AROUND THE WORLD

2003年度撥給USAID以及GEF的預算。

Our special thanks to those of you who sent letters to members of the U.S.
Congress playing key roles in deciding 2003 funding levels for the environment
programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World
Bank's Global Environment Facility (GEF). We especially appreciate those who
responded to our appeal to send letters to Representative Nita Lowey, who was
particularly important in the deliberations as a key member of the committee
that funds these international programs. Your letters to legislators helped
secure the following:

* $148 million for the GEF, a healthy increase from last year's $100 million.
These funds will help developing countries prevent deforestation, reduce threats
to endangered wildlife, and cope with ozone-depleting chemicals, pollution of
the seas, and other urgent environmental problems.
一億四千八百萬美金 for GEF，阻止開發中國家的過度伐林，減少瀕危生物所受到的威
脅，處理消耗臭氧的化學物質以及海洋的污染，以及其他緊急的環境問題。

* $145 million for USAID's Biodiversity Conservation Fund, down from the $150
million that was allocated last fiscal year, but considerably higher than the
$70 million that some members of Congress were initially proposing. This
program protects the habitat of threatened and endangered wildlife around the
world, while also improving the economic and social well-being of local people.
Up to $40 million will go toward tropical forest conservation.
一億四千五百萬美金 for USAID的生物多樣性保育基金，保護瀕危生物的野生棲地，
同時改進當地居民的經濟和社會福利。 其中4千萬是拿來作為熱帶原始林的保育。

* $175 million for USAID's energy conservation and energy efficiency fund, the
same level as last year. This funding will support a wide range of programs
that promote renewable energy and reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global
warming.
一億七千五百萬美金for USAID的能源保存和效率基金，給開發可再利用能源和
減少造成全球暖化的溫室效應氣體的programs。

MIXED NEWS ON THE 2003 SPENDING BILL
美國國會接到18000封從Conservation Action Network寄來的信，
促使委員會成功地阻止了:

In a matter of days, Conservation Action Network members sent nearly 18,000
letters to the U.S. Congress opposing damaging anti-environmental language that
some members of Congress attempted to attach to a large spending bill. Your
effort helped create a buzz of opposition in the media and on Capitol Hill and
defeated attempts to do the following:

* exempt the Tongass National Forest in Alaska--America's rain forest--from
roadless area protection,
阿拉斯加Tongass國家公園- 美國的寒帶雨林 - 之廢除

* authorize pre-lease planning for oil development in the pristine Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, and
北極國家野生動物保護區石油鑽探的計劃

* require the Forest Service to provide industry with trees to log at the
expense of fish, wildlife, clean water, and wilderness.
Forest Service提供給工業界可供砍伐的樹木，當然也破壞了當地的野生動物原本
原始而乾淨的棲息地

Unfortunately, the bill passed with provisions that
但很不幸的，以下也是被資助的部分:

* allow increased logging in our national forests as part of the
administration's wildfire prevention initiative, and
增加美國境內原始林的砍伐，理由是為了阻止森林野火的蔓延

* exempt from appeal or judicial review the Forest Service's final decision on
the Tongass wilderness review. After the vote, the Forest Service announced
that its final plan will not provide wilderness protection to any of the 9
million acres it recently evaluated. That decision could open more than 1
million acres of old-growth forest to logging.
Forest Service投票決定將不提供保護給最近所評估過的9百萬英畝Tongass國家公園
的林地，這個決定可能會開放近1百萬英畝的原始林給伐木業者。

In addition, we were unable to convince Congress to restore $200 million to the
Conservation Trust Fund, which is dedicated to maintaining the health of our
parks, refuges, and open spaces.
除此之外，說服國會回復兩千萬美金的預算給Conservation Trust Fund也宣告失敗，
而這筆資金是用來維持美國境內的國家公園，保護區，以及一些開放的空間。

TURTLES STILL DYING IN MOZAMBIQUE'S WATERS
在上上個月(二月)的時候我po過一篇莫三比克海峽大量死亡的海龜，
並且有寫信給莫三比克各政府漁業機關的聯絡方法；
現在WWF說他們接到了一位當地官員的回信，表示他確實接到了很多來自世界各地
的催促信，並且開始與他們機關內的其他同事開始討論立法將TED加到漁網上以避免
海龜遭entangled而死亡。
這些信仍然有必要繼續寄到莫三比克，以督促他們開始這項行動，
並且可以的話，在信中提供實際的執行方法和建議。
可以到http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=73645&l=1533
獲得更多資訊和莫三比克各相關部門的聯絡方法

In early February we asked you to send personal letters urging officials in
Mozambique to stop shrimp trawlers and longline fishers from killing sea
turtles. We recognize that it takes extra time and expense for you to prepare
and send these letters. You'll be glad to know that your efforts are paying
off. One of the officials told WWF that he has received and responded to
numerous letters from worried members. The campaign prompted him to speak with
his colleagues in the government about the best way to include in legislation a
requirement that fishers use turtle excluder devices, which help turtles escape
unharmed from fishing nets. Your letters are still very much needed to convince
the government to require these devices and to develop a strategy for dealing
with illegal longline fishing, possibly by seeking international assistance to
drive out pirate boats. Go to
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=73645&l=1533 to learn more and
download the names and address of the Mozambique officials and the text of the
letter.

CONGRESS MANDATES FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
美國國會批准環境教育資金

Your 25,000 messages this past fall helped convince Congress to provide $9
million for fiscal year 2003 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) environmental education programs. This victory was tempered, however, by
EPA's indication that it might not allocate these funds to its environmental
education initiative. To make matters worse, EPA's proposed budget for fiscal
year 2004 requests no funds for the program. The environmental community fears
that the Office of Management and Budget is pushing EPA to discontinue the
program. Your actions showed that there is a huge constituency for
environmental education.
9百萬美金的預算撥給了2003年度美國環境保護機構(EPA)的環境教育計劃，
但是2004年度則可能沒有補助

PUBLIC WANTS MORE PROTECTION FOR CASCADE-SISKIYOU NATIONAL MONUMENT
群眾希望給予位於奧勒崗的Cascade-Siskiyou Monument更多的保護

When the Bureau of Land Management asked for input on a draft management plan
for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon, you helped flood it with
comments pushing for more protection. Conservation Action Network members
submitted more than half of the 14,000 letters that favored stronger safeguards.

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was established to protect an area of
extraordinary ecological value. This "biological melting pot" is home to a
nationally outstanding diversity of butterfly species and more than 300 other
animal species, including unique fish and mollusks. Many rare and endangered
plants are found there as well. WWF's staff in Oregon and our local partners
tell us that your support has been invaluable in the campaign to protect this
world-class area.
Cascade-siskiyou National Monument是個"生物鎔爐"，擁有非常多樣的蝴蝶種類
和超過300種其他動物，包括一些獨特的魚類和軟體動物；非常多稀有和瀕危的植物
也都可在這裡找到。

CLOSE VOTE BUT A LOSS ON CLEAN AIR

You spoke out loudly and clearly in support of an amendment offered by Senators
Edwards, Lieberman, Daschle, and Jeffords that would have blocked funding for a
Bush administration roll-back of clean air standards. Unfortunately, the
amendment lost by a vote of 46-50. As a result, final rules announced last year
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will go forward and some of the
dirtiest power companies and refineries will be allowed to increase their
pollution at 17,000 aging facilities. This skirmish was the first in what will
be a long legislative tug of war to determine our future regulatory system for
both clean air and carbon emission reductions. The outcome will have important
implications for wildlife and ecosystem health.
布希政府降低空氣品質標準，而這會直接促使一些骯髒的工業和精煉廠排放更多的污染
物質到空氣中，間接破壞野生動物的棲地和生態系統。

NO DECISION YET ON FOREST THINNING PROPOSAL

The comment period has closed and the Forest Service is reviewing the many
comments it received on its proposal to speed up forest thinning as part of the
administration's forest fire control initiative. Conservation Action Network
members sent 11,000 letters opposing the plan. They argued that it would strip
safeguards from America's forests and the countless creatures that live in them,
that it might actually increase the risk of fire, and that there are better ways
to provide real assistance to rural communities working to protect their homes
from catastrophic fires.
縮小森林(Forest thining)為了防止野火的蔓燒，Forest Service的說法是為了保護更
廣大的原始林和住在裡面的動植物和居住在森林邊緣的人類群落避免被野火焚燒。

CAN MEMBERS PUSH FOR TOXIC CHEMICAL CONTROLS IN EUROPE

The more than 12,000 letters that Conservation Action Network members sent to
the European Union (EU) Commission demonstrated the strong support in the United
States for progressive chemical policy reforms in Europe. Our hope is that
regulations being developed by the EU will protect wildlife and people from
hazardous chemicals and serve as a model worldwide. During the ongoing
political deliberations in Europe, WWF will continue to campaign to ensure that
the proposed policies are not weakened by the powerful chemical industry lobby
and we may ask for your help again at key decision-making points.
對於歐洲聯盟(EU)的有毒化學物質控制，WWF會在決議緊要關頭向大家提出援助的要求。

READY TO DO MORE NOW?

Thanks to you, we have victories to celebrate. And although we haven't won
every time, we will never stop trying. In the upcoming months, we will face
important decisions in the Congress over drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, granting the Defense Department exemptions from
environmental laws, and weakening the Endangered Species Act.
希望知道的更多嗎? 希望能夠為全世界的wildlife和habitat做出什麼幫助嗎?
可以參觀以下兩個網址:

We are counting on you to speak out against these and other threats to our
living planet by visiting
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=73645&l=1536 Please take a minute
to personalize your messages and greatly increase your impact.

We also urge you to visit
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=73645&l=1535 to send free
e-postcards to your friends. Let them know about the Conservation Action
Network and how they can get involved and make a difference.

Thanks for all your help!

--
少吹冷氣 少吃肉 少騎車 節省用電
請保護大自然....
Love on Nature, mother of all.

Ptt生態保育版 版名: Ecophilia
C)分類看板 - 10)生活娛樂館 - 3)HappyLiving - 4)Ecophilia

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