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FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS






_NO.20_
_RESOLUTION OF WORLD BANK AND MULTINATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS_





The World Bank and the Multinational Development Banks were created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 to establish financial institutions financed by the participating nations to furnish low interest loans to the developing nations of the Third World.  The projects were to be of such a nature that they would better the lives of the people.

In the intervening years the original purposes of the loans have been subverted so severely that projects have been and still are being financed that are grossly damaging to the environment and disastrous to the well-being of the people.  Tropical rain forests are being cleared, hydroelectric dams are flooding valuable land and high technology agriculture is being introduced that destroys the soil while producing crops for export.  Many of these projects are displacing millions of inhabitants, including aboriginal peoples whose cultures are destroyed.  These projects often bring profits to large corporations rather than benefits to the people.

Through the concerted efforts of the environmental movement nationally and throughout the world, the policies of the World Banks and the Multinational Development Banks have been somewhat changed recently.  Pressure needs to be increased by the growth of public awareness through education and involvement.

The United States is the largest contributor to these funds and they are allocated by Congress.  It is the belief of the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs that full budget appropriations for the development banks should be supported,, but that Congress should legislate strong measures that would ensure that the funds be used only for environmentally sound projects, designed not to increase the profits of corporations, but to provide a better standard of living for the peoples of the countries receiving assistance.






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