I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4206 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 3, 2009 Mr. Meek of Florida (for himself and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance to the Government of Haiti to end within 5 years the deforestation in Haiti and restore within 30 years the extent of tropical forest cover in existence in Haiti in 1990, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Haiti Reforestation Act of 2009.

2.

Findings; purpose

(a)

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)the established policy of the Federal Government is to support and seek protection of tropical forests around the world; (2)tropical forests provide a wide range of benefits by— (A)harboring a major portion of the biological and terrestrial resources of Earth and providing habitats for an estimated 10,000,000 to 30,000,000 plant and animal species, including species essential to medical research and agricultural productivity; (B)playing a critical role as carbon sinks that reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, as 1 hectare of tropical forest can absorb up to approximately 3 tons of carbon dioxide per year, thus moderating potential global climate change; and (C)regulating hydrological cycles upon which agricultural and coastal resources depend; (3)tropical forests are also a key factor in reducing rates of soil loss, particularly on hilly terrain; (4)while international efforts to stem the tide of tropical deforestation have accelerated during the past 2 decades, the rapid rate of tropical deforestation continues unabated; (5)in 1923, over 60 percent of the land of Haiti was forested but, by 2006, that percentage had decreased to less than 2 percent; (6)during the period beginning in 2000 and ending in 2005, the deforestation rate in Haiti accelerated by more than 20 percent over the deforestation rate in Haiti during the period beginning in 1990 and ending in 1999; (7)as a result, during the period described in paragraph (6), Haiti lost— (A)nearly 10 percent (approximately 11,000 hectares) of the forest cover of Haiti; and (B)approximately 22 percent of the total forest and woodland habitat of Haiti; (8)poverty and economic pressures are— (A)two factors that underlie the tropical deforestation of Haiti; and (B)manifested particularly through the clearing of vast areas of forest for conversion to agricultural uses; (9)the unemployment rate of Haiti is approximately 80 percent; (10)the per capita income of Haiti is $450 per year, which is barely one-tenth of the per capita income of Latin America and the Caribbean; (11)two-thirds of the population of Haiti depend on the agricultural sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming; (12)60 percent of the population of Haiti relies on charcoal produced from cutting down trees for cooking fuel; (13)soil erosion represents the most direct effect of the deforestation of Haiti, as the erosion has— (A)lowered the productivity of the land due to the poor soils underlying the tropical forests; (B)worsened the severity of droughts; (C)led to further deforestation; (D)significantly decreased the quality and, as a result, quantity of freshwater and clean drinking water available to the population of Haiti; and (E)increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees in Haiti; (14)tropical forests provide forest cover to soften the effect of heavy rains and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil with their roots; (15)when trees are cleared, rainfall runs off the soil more quickly and contributes to floods and further erosion; (16)in 2004, Hurricane Jeanne struck Haiti, killing approximately 3,000, and affecting over 200,000, people, partly because deforestation had resulted in the clearing of large hillsides, which enabled rainwater to run off directly to settlements located at the bottom of the slopes; (17)research conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme has revealed a direct (89 percent) correlation between the extent of the deforestation of a country and the incidence of victims per weather event in the country; (18)finding economic benefits for local communities from sustainable uses of tropical forests is critical for the long-term protection of the tropical forests in Haiti; and (19)tropical reforestation efforts would provide new sources of jobs, income, and investments in Haiti by— (A)providing employment opportunities in tree seedling programs, contract tree planting and management, sustainable agricultural initiatives, sustainable and managed timber harvesting, and wood products milling and finishing services; and (B)enhancing community enterprises that generate income through the trading of sustainable forest resources, many of which exist on small scales in Haiti and in the rest of the region. (b)

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance to the Government of Haiti to develop and implement, or improve, nationally appropriate policies and actions— (1)to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in Haiti; and (2)to increase annual rates of afforestation and reforestation in a measurable, reportable, and verifiable manner— (A)to eliminate within 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act any further net deforestation of Haiti; and (B)to restore within 30 years after the date of enactment of this Act the forest cover of Haiti to the surface area that the forest cover had occupied in 1990.

3.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. (2)

Afforestation

(A)

In general

The term afforestation— (i)means the establishment of a new forest through the seeding of, or planting of trees on, a parcel of nonforested land; and (ii)includes the seeding of, or planting of crops (other than trees), such as jatropha or vetiver plants, on a parcel of nonforested land for soil stabilization purposes. (B)

Inclusion

The term afforestation includes the introduction of a tree species to a parcel of nonforested land of which the species is not a native species. (3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.