U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 262p-4j. Promotion of lending for environment

The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to initiate discussions with the other executive directors of such bank and the management of such bank and propose that, in order to reduce the future need for bank lending for reforestation and restoration of environmentally degraded areas, the bank establish a project and policy based environmental lending program (including a loan a portion of which could be used to reduce and restructure private debt), to be made available to interested countries with a demonstrated commitment to natural resource conservation, which would be based on—

(1) the estimated long-term economic return which could be expected from the sustainable use and protection of tropical forests, including the value of tropical forests for indigenous people and for science;

(2) the value derived from such services as—

(A) watershed management;

(B) soil erosion control;

(i) fisheries;

(ii) water supply regulation for industrial development;

(iii) food;

(iv) fuel;

(v) fodder; and

(vi) building materials for local communities;

(D) the extraction of naturally occurring products from locally controlled protected areas; and

(E) indigenous knowledge of the management and use of natural resources; and

(3) the long-term benefits expected to be derived from maintaining biological diversity and climate stabilization.

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