[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3508 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3508
To strengthen the capacity of the United States to lead the
international community in reversing renewable natural resource
degradation trends around the world that threaten to undermine global
prosperity and security and eliminate the diversity of life on Earth,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17, 2010
Mr. Udall of New Mexico (for himself and Mr. Brownback) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To strengthen the capacity of the United States to lead the
international community in reversing renewable natural resource
degradation trends around the world that threaten to undermine global
prosperity and security and eliminate the diversity of life on Earth,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Conservation Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Five hundred million people in developing countries
depend on fresh water from natural areas that are under threat
of degradation.
(2) Two billion people depend on rapidly diminishing fish
stocks for a significant source of their daily protein.
(3) Wild species provide more than $300,000,000,000 in
benefits to world agriculture from natural pest control and the
pollination of \2/3\ of the crop species that feed the world.
(4) Plant breeding programs involving genetic enhancements
from the wild relatives of agricultural crops have helped feed
billions of people around the world and are valued at
$115,000,000,000 per year.
(5) Human degradation of and encroachment into natural
ecosystems such as rainforests increases opportunities for the
outbreak and spread of animal-borne infectious diseases--such
as SARS, avian flu, malaria, schistosomiasis, tuberculosis, and
yellow fever--that could cause high levels of mortality and
affect major global industries including travel, trade,
tourism, food production, and finance.
(6) Forests prevent catastrophic flooding and severe
drought, and coral reefs and mangroves reduce the impact of
large storms on coastal populations, saving $9,000,000,000 in
damages each year and reducing outlays for disaster assistance.
(7) The destruction of forests, mostly in developing
countries, releases more greenhouse gases than the entire world
transportation sector. As one of the most cost effective ways
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a global forest
conservation program could help reduce the cost to the United
States of efforts to reduce emissions.
(8) More than half of the most prescribed medicines in the
United States are derived directly from natural compounds or
patterned after them. Due to the loss of natural areas and
compounds from wild species, one marketable prescription drug
is estimated to be lost every 2 years.
(9) The United States National Intelligence Council expects
demographic trends and natural resource scarcities relating to
water, food, arable land, and energy sources to lead to
instabilities and conflict in the years ahead.
(10) Illegal logging, fishing, and mining in developing
countries flood the international market with low-cost products
that undercut the competitiveness of responsible companies in
the United States. In the absence of competition from illegal
producers, the United States would be able to increase wood
product exports by $460,000,000 a year.
(11) Sound natural resource management, healthy levels of
species diversity, and functioning natural ecosystems are vital
to alleviating poverty for many communities in developing
countries that depend on those resources for food, medicine,
housing material, and other necessities.
(12) Women are especially vulnerable to the threat of
natural resource degradation because they produce most of the
food and collect most of the firewood in many regions, comprise
a large portion of small landholders and small-scale producers,
face heightened food insecurity, have fewer rights to land and
other natural resources, and have less access to credit and
resource management assistance.
(13) Species are becoming extinct at a rate 100 to 1,000
times faster than the natural rate of extinction and \3/4\ of
the world's terrestrial species are in developing countries
that are rapidly destroying their natural areas and habitats.
(14) The United States does not have a strategy for
reversing any of the major renewable natural resource depletion
trends around the world or the threats they pose to the
Nation's health, security, or economy.
(15) Several executive branch agencies are engaged in some
aspect of international conservation, yet their efforts are not
coordinated in a manner that maximizes the effectiveness of the
overall international conservation efforts of the United
States.
(16) Participation by the United States in multilateral
efforts to conserve natural resources, such as through the
World Bank and the Global Environment Facility, leverages
financial commitments by other countries by as much as 14 to 1.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to strengthen the leadership and
effectiveness of the United States in responding to the worldwide
crisis relating to the depletion of natural resources and biodiversity
under existing statutory authority governing United States
international assistance for conservation by--
(1) establishing a comprehensive global strategy for
providing assistance with respect to the conservation of
natural resources and biodiversity in developing countries that
includes a plan for--
(A) addressing major trends in natural resource
degradation that relate to human well-being and
environmental sustainability, such as loss of soils,
watersheds, wilderness, fish stocks, forests, species,
and other critical resources;
(B) identifying clear goals and benchmarks of
success for the strategy;
(C) the phased expansion of existing critical
programs relating to the conservation of natural
resources and biodiversity in developing countries;
(D) improved coordination among executive branch
agencies engaged in international conservation efforts
in order to clarify roles, reduce duplication, and
enhance effectiveness; and
(E) improved integration of conservation goals
within the development, security, and other foreign
policy priorities of the United States;
(2) providing authorization for funding for United States
efforts to address the major threats to natural resources,
species, and ecosystems in developing countries;
(3) improving coordination among the United States, foreign
governments, and international organizations in effectively
delivering conservation assistance through governments,
multilateral organizations, private organizations, and local
communities and community partnerships; and
(4) expanding the capacity of the intelligence community
(as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))) to assess the linkages among
renewable natural resource degradation, resource scarcity,
poverty, civil instability, migration, and conflict and the
effects of the foregoing on the security and economic interests
of the United States.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Developing country.--The term ``developing country''
means a country that, in 2008, had an average gross national
income per capita of $11,905 or less.
(2) Developing world.--The term ``developing world'' refers
to all developing countries collectively.
(3) Hotspot region.--The term ``hotspot region'' means a
region in the developing world that--
(A) contains an unusually high concentration of
species that are not found outside of the region; and
(B) has lost at least 70 percent of its original
natural coverage.
(4) Natural resources; renewable natural resources.--The
terms ``natural resources'' and ``renewable natural
resources''--
(A) mean natural resources, including soils,
forests, animal and plant populations and products,
coral reefs, and water; and
(B) do not include nonrenewable natural resources
such as minerals, oil, and other fossil fuels.
(5) Relevant agencies.--The term ``relevant agencies''
means agencies of the Federal Government that engage in efforts
relating to the international conservation of natural resources
and biodiversity.
(6) Special coordinator; coordinator.--The terms ``Special
Coordinator'' and ``Coordinator'' mean the Special Coordinator
for Global Conservation designated pursuant to section 102.
(7) Sustainable forest management certification system.--
The term ``sustainable forest management certification system''
means a system for monitoring forests and tracking forest
products that is designed to ensure that forest products are
produced using methods that take into account a variety of
widely accepted environmental, social, and economic criteria.
(8) Threatened species.--The term ``threatened species''
means, at a minimum, species identified as having a high
probability of global extinction by the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature or by its constituent networks of
governments, specialist groups, and other stakeholders.
(9) Wilderness.--The term ``wilderness'' means an area in
the developing world larger than 2,500,000 acres with more than
70 percent of its original coverage intact.
TITLE I--POLICY PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
SEC. 101. COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Special
Coordinator for Global Conservation designated pursuant section 102,
shall establish a comprehensive and integrated strategy (in this Act
referred to as the ``International Conservation Strategy'')--
(1) to combat the global degradation of natural resources
and biodiversity in developing countries;
(2) to build on existing bilateral and multilateral
programs relating to the global conservation of natural
resources and biodiversity; and
(3) to strengthen the capacity of the United States to
collaborate with developing countries and other donor countries
and the private sector and be an effective leader of in
international efforts to conserve natural resources and
biodiversity.
(b) Programmatic Approach.--The International Conservation Strategy
shall provide a comprehensive plan of action to address global natural
resource and biodiversity degradation that identifies specific and
measurable goals, benchmarks, and time frames, which may include--
(1) advancing conservation in the world's most ecologically
and economically important terrestrial wilderness areas and
marine ecosystems so that conservation or sustainable
development consistent with long-term conservation will be
achieved on an area of land exceeding 2,000,000 square miles
and an area of sea exceeding 6,000,000 square miles;
(2) protecting 34 discrete hotspot regions that provide a
high level of economic benefit to human communities as well as
a high concentration of genetic and other natural resources;
(3) addressing unlawful, unreported, and unregulated
fishing in 10 developing countries where fish stocks are
severely depleted and regional fishing economies are threatened
through increased surveillance and enforcement;
(4) safeguarding natural areas providing fresh water to 12
major urban centers in developing countries or 50,000,000
people in developing countries;
(5) advancing local, national, and international
enforcement efforts against unlawful wildlife trafficking
operations in 10 centers of the unlawful global wildlife trade
and strengthening trade-based solutions in those centers;
(6) stabilizing or reversing renewable natural resource
scarcity trends in 3 regions that are vulnerable to conflict,
instability, or mass migration from natural resource depletion;
and
(7) substantially expanding the amount of economically and
ecologically significant forested land under a credible
sustainable forest management certification system.
(c) Coordination and Leverage.--The International Conservation
Strategy shall require the coordination and leverage of the
participation of the relevant agencies, foreign governments,
international financial institutions, other international
organizations, and the private sector in efforts to conserve natural
resources and biodiversity in ways that--
(1) clarify the efforts of the United States to address the
conservation crisis within the broader development, foreign
policy, and security agendas of the United States;
(2) establish policy guidance to link investments in
specific conservation programs to the broader goals of
advancing economic development, addressing climate change,
alleviating poverty, improving the economic competitiveness of
the United States, protecting global public health, expanding
the rights of women, and reducing resource scarcities that have
the potential to lead to civil instabilities, mass migrations,
and conflict;
(3) reflect a unified policy of the United States that
encompasses the programs of, and reduces duplication among, the
relevant agencies; and
(4) provide a plan to identify and improve United States
policies that could be undermining the conservation of critical
natural resources and biodiversity abroad.
(d) International Conservation Comparison and Analysis.--The
International Conservation Strategy shall include a system for
analyzing and comparing efforts to conserve natural resources and
biodiversity internationally that--
(1) ranks the efforts of countries around the world to
conserve natural resources and biodiversity, based on standards
established by the President's Advisory Committee for Global
Conservation under section 104(b);
(2) reports on the range of initiatives to conserve natural
resources and biodiversity being conducted internationally; and
(3) measures the progress made by countries receiving
assistance through the International Conservation Strategy with
respect to conserving natural resources and biodiversity.
(e) Revision.--Not later than 5 years after the International
Conservation Strategy is established under subsection (a), the Strategy
shall be revised to reflect--
(1) new information collected in the process of
implementing the Strategy;
(2) advances in the understanding of biological diversity,
the economic and security impacts of renewable natural resource
degradation, and climate change; and
(3) the impacts of climate change on conservation,
biodiversity, and human needs.
SEC. 102. SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR GLOBAL CONSERVATION.
(a) In General.--The President shall designate an individual to
serve in the Executive Office of the President as the Special
Coordinator for Global Conservation.
(b) Duties.--The Coordinator shall--
(1) advise the President on issues relating to
international conservation of natural resources and
biodiversity;
(2) oversee the development and implementation of the
International Conservation Strategy established under section
101;
(3) enhance program and policy coordination among the
relevant agencies in implementing the International
Conservation Strategy by ensuring that each relevant agency
carries out programs primarily in those areas in which each
such agency has the greatest expertise, technical capabilities,
and potential for success and ensuring that agencies avoid
duplication of effort;
(4) evaluate the effectiveness of the international
conservation programs of the relevant agencies in meeting the
goals of the International Conservation Strategy by developing
and applying specific performance measurements;
(5) assess and certify the adequacy of the budgets for the
international conservation programs of the relevant agencies in
meeting the goals of the International Conservation Strategy,
and submit to the heads of the relevant agencies not later than
July 1 of each year budget recommendations, including requests
for specific initiatives that are consistent with the
President's priorities under the Strategy;
(6) take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the
climate change, export and business development, trade, and
development and humanitarian assistance policies of the United
States advance the interests of the United States in conserving
critical global natural resources and biodiversity;
(7) identify innovative pilot projects or underfunded
programs for early or immediate funding that are important for
demonstrating or further developing conservation methodologies
or approaches likely to be important to the success of the
International Conservation Strategy;
(8) identify innovative pilot projects or underfunded
programs that result in expanding the access of women to
sustainably managed natural resources and to techniques for
improved natural resource management;
(9) expand significantly the role of the private sector in
leveraging assistance provided by the United States with
respect to the global conservation of natural resources and
biodiversity by expanding programs that utilize contributions
from the private sector in conservation efforts, such as the
Global Development Alliance of the United States Agency for
International Development; and
(10) take such actions as are necessary to use diplomatic
mechanisms, relevant international institutions and agreements,
and other appropriate mechanisms to lead other countries toward
the goals and actions of the International Conservation
Strategy, together with commitments of increased funding for
meeting such goals.
SEC. 103. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON GLOBAL CONSERVATION.
(1) In general.--The Special Coordinator for Global
Conservation shall establish in the executive branch the
Interagency Working Group on Global Conservation.
(2) Duties.--The Interagency Group shall--
(A) advise the Coordinator on the development and
implementation of the International Conservation
Strategy;
(B) assist the Coordinator in discharging the
responsibilities of the Coordinator under section 102;
(C) review policies that may be obstacles to
achieving the goals of the International Conservation
Strategy;
(D) oversee and report on the implementation of the
Strategy within the relevant agencies;
(E) advise the Coordinator of measures to increase
participation by the relevant agencies in, and
interagency coordination with respect to, conservation
projects; and
(F) meet regularly to review progress on the
objectives described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
(3) Membership.--The Interagency Group shall consist of--
(A) officials in the relevant agencies;
(B) officials in other agencies that have
responsibilities that may affect the ability of the
United States to achieve the goals of the International
Conservation Strategy; and
(C) any other officials the Coordinator determines
will provide information that will facilitate the
development and implementation of the Strategy.
SEC. 104. PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON GLOBAL CONSERVATION.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish the President's
Advisory Committee for Global Conservation to ensure that the best
scientific expertise, and the concerns of relevant public
constituencies, are reflected in the international conservation
policies of the United States.
(b) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall--
(1) advise the President on the development and
implementation of the International Conservation Strategy under
section 101;
(2) assist the Coordinator in the implementation of the
Coordinator's responsibilities under section 102;
(3) review periodically the progress of the International
Conservation Strategy and, not less frequently than annually,
bring to the attention of the Coordinator innovative pilot
projects that further develop conservation methodologies likely
to be important to the success of the Strategy;
(4) take steps to educate the public about the global
conservation programs of the United States; and
(5) establish standards for ranking the efforts of
countries to conserve natural resources and biodiversity to be
used in the system for analyzing and comparing efforts to
conserve natural resources and biodiversity internationally
under section 101(d).
(c) Membership.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of at least
25 members, of whom--
(1) not fewer than 4 shall be selected from representatives
of 4-year institutions of higher education (as defined in
section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001(a)) or nongovernmental organizations in the United States
and have an expertise in international conservation;
(2) not fewer than 2 shall be selected from representatives
of 4-year institutions of higher education or nongovernmental
organizations in the United States and have an expertise in the
relationship among natural resources, biodiversity, economic
development, and poverty alleviation;
(3) not fewer than 2 shall be selected from representatives
of private businesses or trade associations in the United
States and have expertise in the relationship between global
natural resource conservation and the competitiveness of the
economy or key industries of the United States;
(4) not fewer than 2 shall be former Members of Congress or
former high level officials in the executive branch;
(5) not fewer than 2 shall represent religious institutions
or communities of faith;
(6) not fewer than 1 shall be an expert on the effects of
natural resource degradation on women's lives and livelihoods;
(7) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from a zoological
institution with expertise in in situ and ex situ conservation;
(8) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from representatives
of 4-year institutions of higher education or nongovernmental
organizations in the United States and have an expertise in
global freshwater water supply;
(9) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from representatives
of 4-year institutions of higher education or nongovernmental
organizations in the United States and have an expertise in the
relationship between natural resource conservation and food
security;
(10) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from
representatives of 4-year institutions of higher education or
nongovernmental organizations in the United States and have an
expertise in the effects of climate change on natural resources
and biological diversity;
(11) not fewer than 1 shall be a former member of the Armed
Forces and have an expertise in natural resource scarcity and
conflict and security issues;
(12) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from
representatives of 4-year institutions of higher education or
nongovernmental organizations in the United States and have an
expertise in infectious diseases that can be shared between
animal and human populations; and
(13) not fewer than 1 shall be selected from the arts or
the media.
(d) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Advisory Committee shall--
(1) be appointed by the Coordinator; or
(2) in the discretion of the Coordinator, be selected by a
majority vote of the members of the Advisory Committee.
(e) Period of Appointment.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), each
member of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a term
of 3 years.
(2) Initial appointments.--Of the members of the Advisory
Committee first appointed after the establishment of the
Committee--
(A) \1/3\ shall be appointed for a term of 2 years;
(B) \1/3\ shall be appointed for a term of 3 years;
and
(C) \1/3\ shall be appointed for a term of 4 years.
(f) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall convene at the request
of the chairperson.
(g) Reporting.--The Advisory Committee shall periodically report to
the Coordinator on its deliberations, conclusions, and recommendations.
(h) Expenses.--The members of the Advisory Committee shall be
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at
rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes
or regular places of business in performance of services for the
committee.
(i) Exemption.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)
shall not apply to the work process and recommendations of the Advisory
Committee.
SEC. 105. REPORTING.
(a) Annual Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall
submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report
on the development and implementation of the International Conservation
Strategy established under section 101.
(b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
contain--
(1) an assessment of the progress made during the preceding
year in developing and implementing the International
Conservation Strategy established under section 101;
(2) an identification of the programs receiving financial
assistance from the United States that have the potential for
replication or adaptation, particularly at low cost, across
international conservation programs; and
(3) results from the system for analyzing and comparing
efforts to conserve natural resources and biodiversity
internationally under section 101(d), including--
(A) a ranking of the efforts of countries to
conserve natural resources and biodiversity; and
(B) an assessment of the progress made by each
country receiving assistance through the International
Conservation Strategy with respect to conserving
natural resources and biodiversity.
(c) Program Review.--Not later than 4 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the committees
specified in subsection (a) a report assessing progress made during the
preceding 4 years and evaluating the effectiveness of United States
global conservation programs in achieving the goals of the
International Conservation Strategy.
(d) Publication of Reports.--The Coordinator shall ensure that all
reports required by this section are published on the White House Web
site or another appropriate Web site.
SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this title.
TITLE II--MULTILATERAL PROGRAMS
SEC. 201. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this title is to leverage the financial commitments
of the United States with respect to the international conservation of
natural resources and biodiversity by encouraging other countries to
make substantial commitments of funding and other forms of assistance
to a comprehensive and coordinated international natural resource and
biodiversity conservation assistance strategy in order to promote
economic development, human health, food and water security,
environmental sustainability, the protection of biodiversity, and local
and regional security.
SEC. 202. DIPLOMATIC GOALS AND VENUES.
(a) Goals.--Congress urges the President to work with the world's
major foreign assistance donor countries to--
(1) develop a comprehensive and coordinated international
conservation assistance strategy consistent with the priorities
identified in the International Conservation Strategy
established under section 101;
(2) identify innovative and efficient multilateral
mechanisms that can be used to coordinate international action
by all participating donor countries, reduce duplication of
efforts among such donors, achieve the most cost effective
investments, and leverage international foreign assistance with
meaningful financial and other commitments in recipient
countries;
(3) agree on funding requirements and funding goals from
all participating donor countries;
(4) negotiate a timetable for achieving the goals of the
Strategy; and
(5) promote existing multilateral initiatives designed to
identify meaningful levels of interim funding for forest
conservation in developing countries in advance of the
implementation of any international program to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from forest destruction and
degradation.
(b) Venues.--Congress urges the President to explore opportunities
for achieving the goals identified in this section within the context
of United States bilateral diplomacy with other important international
donor countries, bilateral diplomacy with newly emerging donor
countries, and all appropriate multilateral venues.
TITLE III--NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCE
DEGRADATION
SEC. 301. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE WITH RESPECT TO EFFECTS OF
GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCE DEGRADATION.
(a) National Intelligence Estimate.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National
Intelligence shall submit to Congress a national intelligence estimate
on the anticipated geopolitical and regional security effects of the
global degradation of renewable natural resources and the implications
of such effects on the national and economic security of the United
States.
(b) Content.--In preparing the national intelligence estimate
required by this section, the Director of National Intelligence shall--
(1) assess the future political, social, agricultural,
economic, food security, and health risks during the 30-year
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act posed
by global natural resource degradation for countries or regions
that are--
(A) of strategic national security importance to
the United States and at risk of significant impact due
to renewable natural resource degradation; or
(B) at significant risk of large-scale humanitarian
suffering with cross-border implications as predicted
on the basis of such assessments;
(2) assess the capabilities of the countries or regions
described in subparagraph (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) to
respond to adverse security impacts caused by renewable natural
resource degradation;
(3) assess the strategic challenges and opportunities posed
to the United States by the risks described in subsection (a);
and
(4) assess the impact of renewable natural resource
degradation on the activities of the intelligence community (as
defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947
(50 U.S.C. 401a(4))) throughout the world.
(c) Coordination.--In preparing the national intelligence estimate
required under subsection (a), the Director of National Intelligence
shall consult with other agencies of the Federal Government,
representatives of the scientific community, and, as appropriate,
multilateral institutions and allies of the United States that have
conducted valid research on renewable natural resource degradation.
(d) Form.--The national intelligence estimate required under
subsection (a), including key judgments, shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
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