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Resolution 6: North American Wildlife and the US-Mexico Border / La vida silvestre de Norteamérica y el Muro Fronterizo EE.UU.-México

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WHEREAS:

More than 650 miles of wall or other barriers have been constructed along the length of the 2000-mile border of the U.S. and Mexico, and;

The U.S. Congress gave the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the authority to waive all law to expedite building of the wall and in the past two years numerous environmental laws have been waived in order to circumvent court orders halting construction, and;

This borderlands region harbors wilderness areas and migration pathways of critical importance to North American wild species including the jaguar, ocelot, desert bighorn and pronghorn, and;

Ecosystems that support the borderlands’ rich biological diversity also supply ecosystem services important for human well-being;

Attempts in the U.S. Congress are ongoing to build double-layer fencing along the entire 2000-mile border, and;

Border infrastructure interferes with genetic, species, community and regional connectivity between the two countries.

There have also been discussions of a border wall along the U.S.-Canada border.

THEREFORE: The 9th World Wilderness Congress recognizes the severe threat of severing the movement of wild species along an entire latitude of North America — a threat made all the more grave by the increasing drought and unstable climate situation posed by global warming. The Congress commends the work of organizations like the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife and the Sky Island Alliance who have been working to monitor the impact of the wall, raise awareness about the effect on wildlife and ecosystems, and press for legislation in the U.S. Congress that would return the force of environmental law to the borderlands.

RESOLVED: Be it resolved that the 9th World Wilderness Congress calls upon:

• The U.S. Congress to revoke the waiver of environmental and other laws along the border.

• The US Department of Homeland Security to follow all environmental and other applicable law in constructing any future infrastructure operations along the border.

Further, the wall that is already constructed should be subject to intensive monitoring for its impacts on wildlife and ecosystems, and wildlife scientists, private landowners and public land managers on both sides of this international border should be engaged to determine ways to mitigate the impacts of the current wall on wildlife and ecosystems.

PROPOSER: Krista Schlyer, International League of Conservation Photographers

SECONDERS:

Jeff Foott, International League of Conservation Photographers:
P.O. Box 460,Wilson WY 83014;

Miguel Angel de la Cueva, International League of Conservation Photographers:
Ramirez 2370, La Paz, Baja California, Mexico

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