A QUIET PLACE
As a child visiting my grandparents in northern Mexico, I would sometimes drag a mattress out to their yard at night and brave the bugs so I could lie down and stare up at the stars. What I most remember about those balmy nights was the silence—so vast yet intimate that it seemed the Earth itself was about to whisper a secret in my ear. Today, I’m a city guy through and through, but I still appreciate the enduring peace that only nature can provide.
VALUING NATURE
Most people don’t wake up thinking about vanishing rain forests or warming oceans. They’re focused on putting food on the table and how to pay the bills. My team’s goal isn’t to convince people the environment is more important than bread-and-butter issues; instead, we highlight the connection between them. Pollution and deforestation have real costs for people’s lives and livelihoods, especially in politically and economically marginalized communities. Conversely, healthy and resilient ecosystems support healthy and resilient communities. The more political leaders and the citizens who elect them recognize the value of nature, the more they will commit to protecting and restoring it.
BIPARTISAN COOPERATION
If there is one lesson that I’ve learned from over two decades in government, it’s this: To achieve progress, one must be ready to find common ground. In that context, compromise is not a dirty word. To drive lasting, large-scale change, we need support from leaders of every political stripe. My team connects the dots for US policymakers from both parties, illustrating how progress on conservation challenges like illegal wildlife trade and plastic pollution also yield tangible benefits for kitchen table issues like crime, jobs, and public health. We also show how strategic investments in international conservation align with US national security, economic, and development goals.
CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP
When it comes to solving the major environmental challenges of our time, the US remains the “indispensable nation.” With this comes the responsibility to explore innovative ways to make progress. In addition to our efforts to support the long-standing conservation work of federal agencies such as USAID, over the past few years, the WWF-US Policy and Government Affairs team and senior WWF colleagues have helped develop and advance bipartisan legislation to establish a new US government foundation that can provide additional support to long-term, effective management of protected and conserved areas in low- and middle-income countries. This foundation would match one public dollar for every two private dollars invested in eligible projects, up to $100 million per year. These added resources would help prevent biodiversity loss while also promoting regional stability and international security. Working with our congressional champions, we will push to get the legislation across the finish line.
Learn more about this legislation.
