United Nations Biosphere Reserve Land Grabs

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United Nations Biosphere Reserve Land Grabs

Nathan Tabor

 

What do the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, and Monticello have in common?

The average American with a smattering of historical knowledge might say that

those historic sites are all symbolic of America’s unique heritage of freedom.

Monticello, of course, was the home of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the

Declaration of Independence. That document (as well as the U.S. Constitution,

later) was signed in Independence Hall. The Statue of Liberty memorializes the

free nation under God that those founding documents created.

 

What about the Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone Park, and the Grand Canyon?

Well, these priceless natural resources are all managed by the U.S. National

Parks Service. They are among the most frequently visited natural recreation

areas in America, where millions of American families vacation every year.

 

Would it surprise you to learn that every one of these unique American landmarks

is also controlled by the United Nations? It’s amazing but true. Every one of

the natural and historic treasures listed above – plus more than a dozen more in

America – has been designated an official World Heritage Site by the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is

headquartered in Paris, France.

 

Sites included in the World Heritage program are considered to have “outstanding

universal value” as part of our common world heritage. They are designated as

protected areas under the 1972 World Heritage Treaty, which is itself an

outgrowth of the 1968 UNESCO Biosphere Conference – where the currently

ubiquitous concept of “sustainable development” first saw the light of day.

 

But, wait – there’s more. There are 47 OTHER locations in America designated as

UN Biosphere Reserves, which are vast parcels of land set aside for conservation

and scientific study. Symbolized by the Egyptian ankh, the UN’s Man and

Biosphere program is designed to help humans achieve a “balanced relationship

with the natural world” – again, through “sustainable use” of natural resources.

 

What does this mean in real life? Well, nothing, if you believe the UN.

“Biosphere Reserves have no international or other authority,” claims the

website of the U.S. MAB program. Their list of common “myths” about MAB includes

denials that the program results in any “loss of sovereignty” or threat to

private property.

 

Others see it differently. Henry Lamb, executive vice president of the

Environmental Conservation Organization and chairman of Sovereignty

International, says that the “Operational Guidelines” developed by the UN are

effectively enforced by the U.S. government agencies managing the sites locally.

 

“Neither Congress, nor any state legislature, has ever voted to approve any of

the 47 UN Biosphere Reserves in the United States. The management policy for

millions of acres covered by these reserves is crafted by international

committees of bureaucrats, none of whom is elected. To comply with

‘international obligations,’ the United States conforms its management policy

and, in some cases. its law to accommodate the wishes of bureaucrats that are

completely unknown to the people who are governed by the policies,” Lamb

insists.

 

“This reality is but a hint of what is in store for those governed by the rule

of international law. Massive documents, such as the 1140-page ‘Global

Biodiversity Assessment,’ the 300-page ‘Agenda 21,’ and the 410-page ‘Our Global

Neighborhood,’ all paint a picture of the international law that is being

devised to govern the world in the 21st century.” (For more information visit

www.eco.freedom.org .)

 

Every Biosphere Reserve site consists of a protected CORE area, set aside

strictly for conservation; a surrounding BUFFER ZONE, with limited human

activity allowed; and a larger TRANSITION area, where otherwise legal human use

may be severely restricted when the site is judged to be “in danger.”

 

For example, in 1995, Bill Clinton got the UN to declare Yellowstone Park a

“World Heritage Site in Danger.” That gave him the “international obligation” to

close down a coal mine on private property three miles away – despite the fact

that coal had been mined in the area for 150 years before Yellowstone Park was

created, and the Crown Butte Mines had won an award for excellence in 1992.

 

Today, Yellowstone Park is still considered to be “in danger,” according to the

UN, because of “year-round visitor pressure.” Too many U.S. tourists taking

their kids to see Old Faithful, the global bureaucrats in Paris say.

 

The President has the sole authority to approve these UN designations. Congress

has no oversight, and average American citizens have no input. The House of

Representatives has twice passed a bill requiring Congressional approval before

any more precious pieces of America can be designated either Biosphere Reserves

or World Heritage sites. So far, the Senate has refused to even bring the

measure up for a vote.

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I still think Americans ought to control American

land, not UNESCO bureaucrats. Why are both Republicans and Democrats, Liberals

and Conservatives, allowing the UN to wield this kind of influence inside our

nation’s borders? U.S. taxpayers should be outraged!

 

2005 by Nathan Tabor

 

Nathan Tabor is a conservative political activist based in Kernersville, North

Carolina. He has his BA in Psychology and his Master’s Degree in Public Policy.

He is a contributing editor at www.theconservativevoice.com. Contact him at

Nathan.