Clinton: At One With Nature?

Still marveling at the natural wonders of the Botswana bush, President Bill Clinton promised Tuesday to push this year for U.S. Senate ratification of an international treaty to slow the drying up of farmland around the globe.

"Any human being who spends any appreciable amount of time in a uniquely pristine place full of the wonders of animal and plant life instinctively feels humanity's sacred obligation to preserve our environment," Mr. Clinton said.

CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante says Botswanans already are trying to preserve one of their country's natural wonders: the African elephant.

In a program at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, young Botswanans are working with trained elephants. Most people in that nation have never seen an elephant before (even though there are tens of thousands of them), and they mistakenly think of the beasts as dangerous, land-trampling pests. They are learning that the teeming elephant population is an untapped natural resource, that the beasts can be put to good use as loggers, farmers, and as tourist magnets.

Meanwhile, President Clinton said he found a little levity in one of the creatures that crossed his path - a monitor lizard.

"I thought of all the people I would like that lizard to 'monitor.' But unfortunately, I could not catch it and take it home," the president said with a chuckle.

The president announced a push for Senate ratification of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, which was signed in 1994. Mr. Clinton sent the measure to the Senate for ratification in 1996 but it has languished there without action.

The treaty is meant to help countries in Africa and around the world slow the encroachment of deserts on productive farmland. More than 100 nations have signed it.

"I will do my best to get it approved as quickly as possible," Mr. Clinton said.

About one-quarter of the African continent is desert.

Mr. Clinton also announced that NASA, the space agency, would commit satellites and ground-based surveillance equipment to a project to monitor land-use changes in southern Africa. He said the project would improve seasonal drought predictions and measure the impact of land use on climate change.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Clinton declared his excursion through the Botswana bush "beyond my wildest dreams."

Mr. Clinton said he would like to return to Botswana and nearby areas after he leaves office in order to see the sights he missed this time, such as Victoria Falls. His wife Hillary saw the falls on her visit last year, and Mr. Clinton came close to it during his safari on Monda.

Aides said Mr. Clinton also is interested in Botswana's approach to maintaining its natural resources. The government places direct control over wildlife and land resources to local communities, and has declared more than 17 percent of its land area as protected. An additional 20 percent to 25 percent is reserved for community management of natural resources.

Care for the environment courses through nearly everything here. Even the currency the pula is named for the Setswana word for rain.

Yet, Botswana still faces many challenges, such as training a staff to oversee conservation efforts and resource management, and achieving a balance between the competing interests of livestock and tourism.

Some of the sights Mr. Clinton saw on safari:

• A lioness playing with her four cubs
• 20 to 30 different species of birds, including some exotic eagles and storks
• Hippos, baboons, and a huge herd of cape buffalo with curved horns
• Vultures lingering around the remains of a kudu, apparently killed by a lion

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