Investing in biological diversity : US research and conservation efforts in developing countries

Included in the survey were the U.S. government, charitable foundations, non-governmental organizations, universities, museums, botanical gardens, and zoos. In all, 1,093 projects active in 127 developing countries in 1989 were analyzed. The data collected were compared to data from a survey of 1987 activities also conducted by CIDE. The total amount invested by the U.S. in developing countries in 1989 was $62.9 million, a 68% increase over the 1987 level of $37.5 million for 873 projects. The U.S. government and charitable foundations each contributed slightly over one-third of the total funding. One striking finding was the seven-fold increase in biodiversity investments by foundations from 1987 to 1989. Thirty-eight percent of all funds were for projects which focussed primarily on research; projects concerned with site and species management received 25%, most of which was spent on areas rather than single species; 15% went for institutional strengthening; 11% for policy planning and analysis; and 8% for education and technical training. U.S. institutions carried out 72% of the total funding, while institutions based in developing countries implemented 23%. Projects in Latin America received 68% of the total funding; Africa, 17%; and Asia and Oceania together, 10%. Projects that were global or multiregional in scale received 6%. The 10 leading recipient countries together accounted for half of all U.S. biodiversity investments in 1989. In 1987, only 7 countries received more than $1 million in project funding, compared with 13 in 1989. Investments on a per hectare basis and to countries identified by others as priorities for biodiversity conservation (i.e., hotspots, megadiversity) were also analyzed; despite the sizeable increase in funding witnessed in 1989, the large majority of countries received less than $5 per 1,000 hectares for biodiversity research and conservation. Compared to the amounts devoted to other worthy endeavors, such as mapping the human genome ($3 billion), and measured against the pressing need to conserve the planet"s biological wealth for the benefit of current and future generations, the U.S. investment in global diversity -- $62.9 million in 1989 -- is still very small. (Author abstract)