This is as true for the United States as it is for other countries. This strategy promotes cooperation between the various economic sectors, civil society and partnerships between federal and local agencies. It goes beyond regulatory requirements to encourage locally determined voluntary actions to meet and even exceed local and national targets. This plan is consistent with the approach and spirit of Agenda 21. The plan deals with the real issues of sustainable development.
Agriculture is one important example.
In the United States, we support education and action plans that increase awareness and we support the successful the implementation of programs to protect wetlands and watersheds, to control erosion, and to reduce non-point farm pollution. Wetlands are another, even more specific, aspect of water in which we regulate the conversion of wetlands to farmland and offer incentives to farmers to conserve wetlands and even to restore them. In Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia we actively support integrated watershed management efforts. In Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, we are helping governments reduce industrial and agricultural pollution. Other efforts are focused on helping governments to establish regulatory frameworks to protect water resources.