NKURIKIYIMANA
vendredi 21 juin 2013
Congress: Elephants are on the brink
Sophisticated gangs of criminals are poaching elephants to extinction. Up to 30,000 elephants are killed in Africa each year for their ivory tusks, and the situation is getting worse with each passing year.
Unless we take decisive action now, we're facing a future without elephants.
Congress controls funding for USAID Biodiversity programs that help combat poaching and save elephants. But
the funding faces a severe 40% cut
from this year's budget, right when elephants need it the most.
Tell your members of Congress to support conservation programs that elephants depend on... before it's too late.
Recipients
Your Senators
Your Representative
Contact
*
Required fields
*
Title:
Mr.
Ms.
Mrs.
Miss
Dr.
*
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Your Email:
*
Address 1:
Address 2:
*
City:
*
State / Province:
Choose a State
AK
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
HI
IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MA
MD
ME
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NC
ND
NE
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
WV
WY
AS
FM
GU
MH
MP
PR
PW
VI
*
ZIP / Postal Code:
Phone Number:
Remember me.
What's this?
If you take action and have not already registered, you will receive periodic updates and communications from Wildlife Conservation Society.
Message
*
Subject:
Dear Decision Maker,
*
Personalize your message
I'm writing to you as a supporter of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and as a constituent. Illegal poaching and trade of parts of animals like elephants is a major problem around the world and is harmful to U.S. interests. The people and groups who engage in illegal wildlife trade are the same who engage in other illicit activities. Often, the billions of dollars brought in by the slaughter and trafficking of wildlife are used to finance the illegal drug or arms trade. This is a direct threat to U.S. national security. The U.S. contributes foreign aid that is critical to protecting U.S. interests. U.S. foreign assistance is helping local people and communities recover from years of conflict and economic ruin. Some of this funding, including for the fight to stop illegal wildlife trade, comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Biodiversity Program. I urge you to protect funding for the USAID Biodiversity Program, a critical U.S. foreign aid program in the Fiscal Year 2014 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. The situation surrounding poaching and illegal wildlife trade is becoming dire. Just this past April, WCS helped confirm a new troubling slaughter of forest elephants in the violence-ridden Central African Republic (CAR) near the Dzanga-Sangha protected areas. Up to 30,000 elephants are killed in Africa each year for their ivory tusks, which are in high demand in Asia. This follows groundbreaking research by WCS and several partners that found a staggering 76 percent decline in the forest elephant population, from 322,000 to 80,000, between 2002 and 2013. In addition to fighting wildlife trafficking, the USAID Biodiversity Program supports important projects such as community-based natural resource management. Developing countries need a diversified economy to stabilize, and conservation programs can help achieve that. By training rural communities to better manage their resources, from improving livestock health to creating sustainable livelihoods programs, individuals working to manage limited resources can help improve economic and security circumstances. The USAID Biodiversity Program line item has been slashed by 40% in the Administration's FY14 Budget Request. We need Congress to restore the USAID Biodiversity Program line item and fully fund it at the FY13 enacted level. In addition, there is an urgent need for emergency funding for site-based wildlife law enforcement and protection to stop the poaching in Central and East Africa that is devastating elephant populations. We also ask that Congress support the Administration's Request for funding for the Global Environment Facility (the GEF), which is a similarly important force for international conservation. As Congress prepares to mark up FY14 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations, please help protect beneficial foreign aid like the USAID Biodiversity Program and the Global Environment Facility, which are especially valuable for vulnerable species like elephants. Thank you in advance for your support of these important programs.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire
Article plus ancien
Accueil
Inscription à :
Publier les commentaires (Atom)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire