Environmentalists challenge US failure to enforce migratory bird law in NAFTA environmental forum
For Immediate Release
November 18, 1999
Washington, D.C. — Nine environmental groups from the United States, Canada and Mexico submitted a complaint today alleging that the U.S. government deliberately allows logging companies to flout U.S. laws that prohibit the killing of migratory birds — in direct violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and international treaties that the United States has signed with Canada and Mexico.
“The government admits that it will not even investigate cases in which migratory birds are killed by logging operations,” said Chris Wold, an attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which is representing conservation groups in the case.
“This is a clear failure to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which recognizes the economic and ecological value of all migratory birds — not just endangered species — and prohibits killing them except according to legal, scientifically-based permits,” he continued.
Environmental groups filed the complaint with the Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in Montreal. The CEC was set up by the three NAFTA countries to investigate failures of environmental law enforcement that might result from the pressures of free trade. The CEC has played an important role in improving enforcement of environmental law and promoting environmental cooperation through research programs and plans for conservation and pollution reduction.
Migratory birds are an important part of the biological diversity of natural forests. They also have significant economic value. Birdwatchers constitute many of the nearly 63 million Americans who spend over $30 billion annually observing wildlife. An estimated 3 million Americans spend some $1.3 billion each year hunting migratory birds. Some migratory species benefit agriculture by eating destructive insects. Yet, tens of thousands or more migratory birds are killed by logging every year, according to the complaint.
The United States’ failure to enforce its own laws is particularly disturbing given that the Administration is currently promoting an agreement among WTO members to eliminate tariffs on forest products. Environmentalists object to the deal, arguing that expanded trade and trade rules could increase the pressure to overharvest timber in countries with weak forest protection laws.
Yet the Administration’s recent review of possible impacts on forests of tariff reductions did not take into account the quality of law enforcement in exporting countries. “How can we assume that trading partners will protect forests against economic pressures and trade, when the United States itself fails to enforce its own environmental laws protecting forest species?” asked David Downes, a CIEL senior attorney.