Bruce F. Vento: “The fact is that this amendment does great harm in terms of what would occur, and the message sent if it is enacted. We…”

“The fact is that this amendment does great harm in terms of what would occur, and the message sent if it is enacted. We are the leader, basically, the United States. These programs were initiated by the United States, both the World Heritage Convention and the Man and The Biosphere Program. To date, nearly 150 nations have joined with us on the World Heritage Convention, 125 in terms of Man and The Biosphere. What this amendment has the effect of doing is relegating us to a cultural and environmental isolationism which suggests that we are no longer going to cooperate, in an era when we look at the international and national boundaries of our Nation and recognize the inherent logic in terms of working and collaborating and cooperating with other nations in terms of dealing with, as in the case of Man and The Biosphere...”