FEDERAL BIOSPHERES ARE STILL ILLEGAL

Fiedor Report On the News #300 ^ | 2-2-03 | Doug Fiedor

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Today, over 68% of public land -- land belonging to the people of the United States -- the land in our National Parks, Preserves and Monuments, is designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve or both. Worse yet, United Nations' land designations, such as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites, currently take place without the approval of Congress and with no Congressional oversight. Nor are State and local officials, or even private landowners, usually consulted.

By allowing these international land designations, the U.S. is indirectly agreeing to terms of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which the U.S. is not a party or which the U.S. Senate has refused to ratify. That is, by agreeing to form UNESCO biospheres in the United States, federal bureaucrats allow a group of foreigners to make land-use regulations for our property and the federal bureaucracy uses the guns of the federal government to force the American people to obey the foreign regulations.

So, although the United Nations has no direct enforcement of land management -- they have no police here yet -- decisions in the use and operation of Biosphere Reserves or World Heritage Sites are set in accordance with UNESCO rules and regulations. There is no treaty or agreement. Some federal bureaucrats(1) took this power upon themselves. Which means, they unlawfully gave the international community an open invitation to interfere in U.S. domestic land use decisions -- decisions which often limit the use of privately owned property, and thereby negatively impact on its value.

For instance, the actions of the World Heritage Committee in condemning a proposed mining development on privately-owned land outside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, a World Heritage Site, provides an example of the havoc these foreign programs can create. A member of the World Heritage Committee, Adul Wichiencharoen from Thailand (of all places), requested that a 12 million acre (18,750 square mile) buffer zone be created around the 2 million acre Yellowstone National Park. Federal bureaucrats are attempting to work that foolishness in, but the pesky people living in the area won't cooperate. One bureaucratic suggestion is that the people be removed so the weeds, bugs and wild animals can live in peace.

According to the U.S. National Committee MAB, as adopted on July 26, 1995: "The mission of the United States MAB Program is to explore, demonstrate, promote, and encourage harmonious relationships between people and their environments building on the MAB network of Biosphere Reserves and interdisciplinary research. The long-term goal of the U.S. MAB Program is to contribute to achieving a sustainable society early in the 21st Century. The MAB mission and long term goal will be implemented, in the United States and internationally, through public-private partnerships and linkages that sponsor and promote cooperative interdisciplinary research, experimentation, education and information exchange on options by which societies can achieve sustainability."(2)

Another mission statement is available by the Department of State.(3) Their Environmental and Scientific Affairs office also posted a page of informative links.(4)

Back in the Carter Administration there was an international agreement which many countries signed onto. The United States agreed, in part. And, as always, the American taxpayer got stuck paying big bucks for something that had zero benefit for the American public. The key word there was "agreement." It was not an international treaty. President Carter agreed to participate only in part, and implemented that part of the agreement through an executive memoranda. The administration then secured minimal program funding from Congress.

President Reagan saw the fallacy in the program and canceled the whole thing. However, federal bureaucrats did not conform and continued making more biospheres.

On April 24, 1997, Rep. Coburn offered an amendment to the National Science Foundation budget stating that: "No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be used for the United States Man and Biosphere Program, or related projects." Coburn spelled out the law for the House:

"It is important that the people recognize that the Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage sites are under the guidance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization also known as UNESCO. The United States withdrew from that Organization in 1984 because of gross financial mismanagement.

"Over 68 percent of our national parks, preserves, and monuments have been designated as United Nations World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves or both. There are currently 47 of those sites [97 actually] in the United States, covering an area the size of Colorado. Under the relative agreements, the United States is promising to manage lands in accordance with international guidelines.

"Many times local governments, [and] private property [owners] are never consulted in these management plans. This is a clear violation of private property rights. The biosphere programs, including the United States Man and Biosphere Program, have never been authorized by any Congress, never been authorized, but still received [funds] this past year and this year will receive over $700,000 of taxpayers' money. The National Science Foundation distributed more than $400,000 in grants to this unauthorized program despite the fact that the program has never had a consideration or vote in Congress and has never been approved by a body of the Congress."

That amendment easily passed, as did a number of subsequent amendments to various budget bills specifically defunding the biosphere project -- even though the project never had authorization. Yet, the biosphere reserves are still with us and third-world foreigners from UNESCO are still wandering our nation with the intent of directing our land usage.

Still today, the U.S. and UNESCO Man and Biosphere Program (MAB) seems to be chugging along like the Little Engine that Could. No matter what, it will not quit.(5)

Legally, the Man and the Biosphere program does not exist. Yet, an American citizen can still get arrested for entering one of their many restricted zones. Congress never funded the program, and even stated in a number of bills that no money may be spent on it. Yet, the program is still in full operation.

For more on exactly what a biosphere is, as per UNESCO, and what they have planned for the American People, see the Biospheres in a Nutshell FAQ.(6)

Clearly, this is a gross misappropriation of funds. Stealing of taxpayer money, in other words. That being so, a few dozen bureaucrats should be fitted up with some prison uniforms. That's the only way this nonsense will ever be stopped.

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1. <http://www.euromab.org/general_information/nat_comm.html>

2.<http://www.euromab.org/home2.html>

3. <http://www.state.gov/www/global/oes/fs_mab.html>

4. <http://www.state.gov/www/global/oes/mab.html>

5. <http://refuges.fws.gov/> (see map)

6. <http://www.unesco.org/mab/nutshell.htm>

 

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