The politics of US environmental assistance, 1976–1986

Abstract

As a result of a lawsuit, in 1975 the US Agency for International Development (AID) began to define for the first time an environmental mission. Despite the fact that agriculture is one of the major budgetary sectors at AID, the environmental programs of the Office of Forestry, Environment and Natural Resources on the whole neglected (until recently) addressing the environmental sustainability of agricultural practices. This outcome is consistent with several models of the public policy process, especially with respect to how technical information is integrated into mission plans. Specifically, the unique shape of the AID environmental mission can be explained by three sets of elements: (a) the conflicting interests of AID's external environmental, agricultural, and forestry constituencies; (b) internal organizational structure and reinforcing ideological predispositions of the Reagan White House, and (c) the developmental priorities of recipient governments. The case illustrates the complexity of executive branch program development where intraorganizational and domestic politics can affect international policy formulation in a way that does not encourage resolution of technical issues. In broad terms, AID's environmental mission still is characterized by an unresolved tension between production goals and sustainability goals, which is perpetuated by organizational rigidities despite evidence of good will and hopeful rhetoric.