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 You are in: Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs > Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs > Releases > Remarks > 2003 

The Congo Basin Forest Partnership

John F. Turner, Assistant Secretary, Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Opening Remarks at Ecotourism Symposium
Rosslyn, Virginia
February 21, 2003

I would like to welcome all participants, and especially acknowledge Ambassador Faida Mitifu from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rene Adiaheno, Gabon National Parks Council, as well as all other representatives of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership countries.

Welcome also to all of the ecotourism experts and those interested in African natural resource conservation and sustainable development who have come to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the Congo Basin area.

Many thanks to the NGOs who are working in the Congo Basin and other government agencies who are participating. We have a great opportunity in the Congo Basin because we are at the crossroads for this remarkable landscape. We can care for the region and the people simultaneously by approaching issues such as: corruption, diseases, poverty, not to mention unsustainable use of resources (timber, wildlife, minerals). It is my belief that tourism is very important to this region.

There are five reasons why we need to take action:

  • Value of the resource -- one of the largest remaining forests in the world as well as the watershed, and culture -- dance, music, crafts.
  • Travel potential: wildlife viewing, hunting, fishing, landscape viewing. I confess to my own interest in tourism because my family, for the past three generations has conducted tours in the national parks in Wyoming.
  • Commitment and strength of our partners: Everyone is willing to build capacity and work with each other.
  • Create a lasting legacy for the conservation of the largest area in Africa and one of the largest projects in the U.S.
  • Help neighbors by exporting one of the U.S.’s greatest resources, the Yellowstone model.

Our job today is to be visionary realists. Join together to: define opportunities and challenges, short and long term goals; identify missing partners, financing sources and marketing strategies; identify infrastructure, safety and health needs, and share ecotourism development models from other areas. Underlying all of this is the question of how we ensure that tourism works well with sustainable management of this region?


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