[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6038 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6038

   To strengthen the role of the United States in the international 
community of nations in conserving natural resources to further global 
                        prosperity and security.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2012

    Mr. Fortenberry (for himself, Mr. Carnahan, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
Chandler, Mrs. Bono Mack, Ms. Chu, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Grimm, 
 Mr. Dicks, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Engel, 
 Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Farr, Mr. Reichert, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Royce, 
Mr. Holt, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. 
   Kissell, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore, Mr. 
 Moran, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Woolsey) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To strengthen the role of the United States in the international 
community of nations in conserving natural resources to further global 
                        prosperity and security.

    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 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Sound natural resource management and healthy levels of 
        biological diversity are vital to alleviating poverty in 
        developing countries that depend on these resources for food, 
        medicine, housing material, trade, recreation, and other 
        activities that benefit from the intrinsic value of wildlife 
        and its habitat.
            (2) The United States is uniquely positioned to partner 
        with the international community to confront natural resources 
        challenges in developing countries.
            (3) The United States needs a strategy for working jointly 
        with other countries to address renewable natural resource 
        depletion trends around the world and the threats such trends 
        pose to the economy, health, and security of the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Developing country.--The term ``developing country'' 
        means a country or area that is on the List of Official 
        Development Assistance Recipients of the Development Assistance 
        Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
        Development.
            (2) Hotspot regions.--The term ``hotspot regions'' means 
        regions of the developing world that contain an unusually high 
        concentration of species found nowhere else and that have lost 
        at least 70 percent of their original extent.
            (3) Natural resources or renewable natural resources.--The 
        terms ``natural resources'' and ``renewable natural resources'' 
        mean natural resources, including soils, forests, animal and 
        plant populations and products, coral reefs, and water, but do 
        not include nonrenewable natural resources such as minerals, 
        oil, and other fossil fuels.

SEC. 4. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to strengthen the capacity of the United 
States to further economic development and improve stability and 
security both domestically and abroad by establishing a comprehensive 
strategy for--
            (1) enhancing and expanding partnerships throughout the 
        international community to address natural resource challenges 
        to ensure healthy and sustainable supplies of water, wildlife 
        habitat and populations, fish stocks and habitat, forests, 
        plants, and other critical resources;
            (2) integrating international conservation projects and 
        activities to advance United States foreign policy priorities 
        in areas such as security, democratization, sustainable food 
        production, and clean water;
            (3) expanding and enhancing the economic and wildlife 
        conservation benefits that derive from properly managed 
        international hunting and angling tourism;
            (4) addressing poaching, illegal logging, fishing and 
        wildlife trafficking; and
            (5) establishing more efficient and effective policies and 
        processes for departments and agencies engaged in, or providing 
        support to, international conservation by--
                    (A) identifying clear goals, priorities, and 
                benchmarks of success;
                    (B) improving coordination among such agencies in 
                order to clarify roles, reduce duplication, and enhance 
                effectiveness;
                    (C) improving agency processes to ensure 
                conservation programs are administered effectively, 
                efficiently, and with minimal expenditures for program 
                administration;
                    (D) identifying conservation programs and policies 
                currently being utilized abroad and evaluating the 
                potential for similar approaches to be adopted by the 
                United States to further the purposes of this Act; and
                    (E) encouraging participation by the United States 
                in various multilateral efforts to leverage financial 
                commitments to conserve natural resources.

           TITLE I--ASSESSING EXISTING POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

SEC. 101. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE AUDIT AND REPORT.

    (a) Audit Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall conduct an audit of existing United States international 
conservation policies and programs to determine the extent to which 
such programs are achieving the following objectives:
            (1) Enhancing and expanding partnerships throughout the 
        international community to address natural resource challenges 
        to ensure healthy and sustainable supplies of water, wildlife 
        habitat and populations, fish stocks and habitat, forests, 
        plants, and other critical resources.
            (2) Integrating international conservation projects and 
        activities to advance United States foreign policy priorities 
        in areas such as security, democratization, sustainable food 
        production, and clean water.
            (3) Expanding and enhancing the economic and wildlife 
        conservation benefits that derive from properly managed 
        international hunting and angling tourism.
            (4) Addressing poaching, illegal logging, fishing, and 
        wildlife trafficking.
            (5) Establishing more efficient and effective policies and 
        processes for executive branch agencies engaged in or 
        supporting international conservation by--
                    (A) identifying clear goals, priorities, and 
                benchmarks of success;
                    (B) improving coordination among such agencies in 
                order to clarify roles, reduce duplication, and enhance 
                effectiveness;
                    (C) improving agency processes to ensure 
                conservation programs are administered effectively, 
                efficiently, and with minimal expenditures for program 
                administration; and
                    (D) identifying conservation programs and policies 
                currently being utilized abroad and evaluating the 
                potential for similar approaches to be adopted by the 
                United States to further the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the appropriate authorizing and appropriating 
committees of Congress a report containing the findings of the audit 
conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and any recommendations for 
legislation necessary to better address the findings.
    (c) Report Requirements.--The report required under subsection (b) 
shall include--
            (1) a detailed description of all federally sponsored 
        multilateral international conservation programs, including--
                    (A) the key agencies associated with each program;
                    (B) the primary goals of each program;
                    (C) the extent to which executive branch agencies 
                have established measures of performance and 
                effectiveness for each program; and
                    (D) the amount appropriated for each program in the 
                5 previous fiscal years;
            (2) an assessment on how well executive branch agencies are 
        collaborating and coordinating on international conservation 
        efforts;
            (3) an assessment on the extent to which executive branch 
        agencies have established strategic goals and performance 
        measures;
            (4) any recommendations that the Comptroller General 
        considers appropriate and useful to improve collaboration and 
        coordination between executive branch agencies on international 
        conservation efforts; and
            (5) any other analyses the Comptroller General considers 
        necessary or appropriate.

              TITLE II--POLICY PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

SEC. 201. COMPREHENSIVE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION 
              STRATEGY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Interagency 
Working Group on Global Conservation designated pursuant to section 
202(a), shall establish a comprehensive strategy (hereafter referred to 
as the ``International Conservation Strategy'') to strengthen the 
capacity of the United States to collaborate with other countries, 
international organizations, the private sector, and private voluntary 
organizations on a sustained international effort to conserve natural 
resources and enhance biodiversity in a manner beneficial to the 
economic well-being and security of the United States and other 
participating countries.
    (b) Goals and Benchmarks.--The International Conservation Strategy 
established pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide a comprehensive 
plan of action that identifies specific and measurable goals, 
benchmarks, and time frames for--
            (1) advancing conservation in the world's most ecologically 
        and economically important terrestrial and marine ecosystems;
            (2) protecting distinct 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) helping developing countries address illegal, 
        unreported, and unregulated industrial fishing where economies 
        are negatively impacted by depleted fish stocks;
            (4) safeguarding natural areas that provide fresh water to 
        developing countries;
            (5) protecting forests and advancing enforcement efforts 
        against illegal logging in centers of the illegal logging 
        trade;
            (6) advancing enforcement efforts against poaching and 
        unlawful wildlife trafficking operations;
            (7) facilitating and leveraging the economic and 
        conservation benefits that derive from properly managed 
        international hunting, angling, and wildlife observation 
        tourism;
            (8) stabilizing or reversing renewable natural resource 
        scarcity and degradation trends in regions that are vulnerable 
        to conflict, instability, or mass migration from natural 
        resource depletion;
            (9) expanding substantially the amount of economically and 
        ecologically significant forest in developing countries; and
            (10) reducing the rate of erosion and desertification in 
        developing countries where soil loss is resulting in severe 
        impacts to the economy, food security, or stability.
    (c) Coordination and Leverage.--The International Conservation 
Strategy shall coordinate and leverage the participation of relevant 
executive branch agencies, other countries, the private sector, and 
private voluntary organizations in ways that--
            (1) reflect Government-wide policy that encompasses the 
        programs of, and reduces duplication among, executive branch 
        agencies that influence, engage in, or support international 
        conservation;
            (2) provide a plan to identify and improve United States 
        policies that could be undermining the conservation of critical 
        natural resources and biodiversity abroad; and
            (3) seek to encourage and leverage participation from 
        governments of developing countries and other governments, the 
        private sector, private voluntary organizations, and 
        international organizations to implement the Strategy.
    (d) Assessing and Improving Effectiveness.--The International 
Conservation Strategy shall include a description of the performance 
and efficiency measures developed pursuant to section 202(a)(2)(C) and 
a process for their utilization.
    (e) Country Ownership.--In preparing the International Conservation 
Strategy, the Interagency Working Group on Global Conservation shall 
ensure that the Strategy is appropriate to local needs and conditions 
and incorporates the views of partner countries, and describes a means 
for local citizens to participate in the implementation and the setting 
of priorities of such programs in the field. The International 
Conservation Strategy should build upon partner country development 
plans and regional strategies.
    (f) Revision.--Not later than 4 years after the International 
Conservation Strategy is established, and every 4 years thereafter, the 
Strategy shall be revised to reflect--
            (1) new information collected pursuant to the 
        implementation of the Strategy; and
            (2) advances in the understanding of biological diversity 
        and the economic and security impacts of renewable natural 
        resource degradation.

SEC. 202. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Interagency Working Group on Global Conservation.--
            (1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall establish the 
        Interagency Working Group on Global Conservation (hereafter 
        referred to as the ``working group''), which shall include the 
        participation of the executive branch agencies that affect, 
        oversee, or implement programs that conduct or support 
        international conservation activities or affect the ability of 
        the United States to achieve the goals of the International 
        Conservation Strategy.
            (2) Duties.--The working group shall--
                    (A) develop, through utilization of the report 
                completed pursuant to section 101(b) and appropriate 
                public and agency input, the International Conservation 
                Strategy established pursuant to section 201(a);
                    (B) identify measures to enhance program and policy 
                coordination among the relevant executive branch 
                agencies in implementing the Strategy by ensuring that 
                each relevant executive branch agency undertakes 
                programs primarily in those areas where each such 
                agency has the greatest expertise, technical 
                capabilities, and potential for success, and ensuring 
                that agencies avoid duplication of effort;
                    (C) work with the Office of Management and Budget 
                to evaluate the effectiveness of the international 
                conservation programs of the relevant executive branch 
                agencies in meeting the goals of the Strategy by 
                developing and applying specific performance 
                measurements, including assessments of--
                            (i) program effectiveness;
                            (ii) program efficiency and cost-
                        effectiveness;
                            (iii) program accessibility and 
                        transparency; and
                            (iv) agency overhead or project 
                        administration costs for programs operating in 
                        the field;
                    (D) submit to the heads of the United States 
                Government departments and agencies represented on the 
                working group programmatic recommendations that are 
                consistent with the priorities of the Strategy and 
                policy recommendations to ensure that the polices of 
                such departments and agencies advance the interests of 
                the United States in conserving critical global natural 
                resources and biodiversity;
                    (E) submit to such heads recommendations for 
                facilitating coordination and continuity across the 
                departments and agencies in the implementation of 
                global conservation policies subject to interagency or 
                multi-agency jurisdiction;
                    (F) identify innovative conservation projects, 
                policies, and initiatives that contribute to achieving 
                multiple foreign policy goals simultaneously, 
                including--
                            (i) reducing poverty;
                            (ii) expanding access to food and water;
                            (iii) addressing health threats through 
                        natural resources conservation;
                            (iv) expanding the access of women to 
                        sustainably managed natural resources and to 
                        techniques for improved natural resource 
                        management;
                            (v) addressing poaching, unlawful fishing, 
                        and illegal logging;
                            (vi) reducing natural resource scarcities 
                        or degradation that could increase inter- and 
                        intra-state tensions; and
                            (vii) conserving biological diversity;
                    (G) identify measures to address obstacles to 
                achieving the goals of the Strategy, including policies 
                that might limit the conservation benefits from 
                properly managed international hunting and angling 
                tourism;
                    (H) develop recommendations for expanding the role 
                of the private sector in United States international 
                conservation programs by expanding and leveraging 
                private sector contributions;
                    (I) identify measures that further the goals of the 
                Strategy, including regulatory actions that facilitate 
                the importation process for wildlife species with a 
                legitimate scientific purpose or to directly or 
                indirectly benefit the recovery of the species or its 
                habitat through the support of conservation programs in 
                foreign countries;
                    (J) recommend diplomatic mechanisms, relevant 
                international institutions and agreements, and other 
                appropriate mechanisms to engage other countries to 
                work jointly with the United States to achieve the 
                goals and actions of the International Conservation 
                Strategy;
                    (K) identify successful conservation programs and 
                policies currently being utilized abroad and evaluate 
                the potential for similar approaches to be adopted or 
                expanded by the United States to further the goals of 
                the Strategy;
                    (L) identify underperforming and unsuccessful 
                projects and programs and make recommendations to 
                improve performance and terminate programs and projects 
                in a manner consistent with furthering the goals of the 
                Strategy;
                    (M) identify natural resource conservation needs 
                not currently being met by existing policies and 
                programs and make recommendations for addressing such 
                needs;
                    (N) recommend mechanisms to facilitate mutually 
                beneficial international conservation partnerships 
                between such departments and agencies, nongovernmental 
                organizations, and the private sector; and
                    (O) meet regularly to review progress on the 
                objectives described in subparagraphs (A) through (N).
            (3) Working group leadership.--The President shall 
        designate an individual in the executive branch to serve as the 
        chair of the working group (hereafter referred to as the 
        ``chair''), the duties of whom shall include--
                    (A) convening and leading meetings of the working 
                group;
                    (B) taking steps to ensure the development and 
                implementation of the International Conservation 
                Strategy;
                    (C) ensuring the goals and purposes of the working 
                group are met in accordance with paragraph (2); and
                    (D) ensuring public input into the development and 
                implementation of the International Conservation 
                Strategy by convening the Global Conservation Public 
                Advisory Board established under subsection (b).
    (b) Global Conservation Public Advisory Board.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is hereby established a Global 
        Conservation Public Advisory Board (hereafter referred to as 
        the ``Advisory Board''), whose purpose shall be to advise the 
        working group on matters related to the international 
        conservation policies and programs of the United States and the 
        development and implementation of the International 
        Conservation Strategy, and to ensure that the best scientific, 
        policy, economic security, and business expertise are reflected 
        in the international conservation strategies and policies of 
        the United States.
            (2) Duties.--It shall be the duty of the Advisory Board to 
        advise the working group on matters related to carrying out the 
        duties described in subsection (a)(2), including on matters 
        submitted to it for consideration by the working group, as well 
        as matters identified by the Advisory Board.
    (c) Membership.--The Advisory Board shall be comprised of not more 
than 15 persons appointed from among citizens of the United States who 
support sustainable-use conservation, and shall have outstanding 
expertise in one or more of the following fields:
            (1) International conservation.
            (2) International diplomacy.
            (3) International business.
            (4) Economic development and poverty alleviation.
            (5) Food security and water access.
            (6) Natural resource scarcity and degradation and related 
        conflict and security issues.
            (7) The economic and conservation benefits of international 
        hunting and angling tourism.
            (8) International laws concerning illegal wildlife 
        trafficking and illegal fishing.
            (9) Wildlife biology and zoology.
    (d) Appointment.--Members of the Advisory Board shall be appointed 
by the President with the advice of the Chairman and Ranking Member of 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Chairman and 
Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives, on a staggered basis for a term not to exceed 4 years, 
except that with respect to the initial members of the Advisory Board, 
\1/3\ shall be appointed for a term of 2 years, \1/3\ shall be 
appointed for a term of 3 years, and \1/3\ shall be appointed for a 
term of 4 years.
    (e) Chairman.--A member of the Advisory Board shall be elected by a 
vote of the majority of the Board to serve as Chairman for a 2-year 
term.
    (f) Meetings.--The Advisory Board shall convene at the call of the 
Chairman to consider a specific agenda of issues, as determined by the 
Chairman in consultation with the working group and other members of 
the Advisory Board.
    (g) Reporting.--The Advisory Board shall report to the working 
group chair designated in accordance with subsection (a)(3) on its 
deliberations, conclusions, and recommendations.
    (h) Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Advisory 
Board shall be exempt from the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 203. REPORTING.

    (a) Government Accountability Office Reports.--Not later than 4 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years 
thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
an audit to consider the progress made pursuant to subsection (a) of 
section 101, including congressional actions under subsection (b) of 
such section, to achieve the objectives, goals, and benchmarks 
described in section 201(b), and submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives, and to other appropriate authorizing and 
appropriating committees of Congress a report on the development and 
implementation of the International Conservation Strategy, including--
            (1) assessing progress made during the preceding 3 years in 
        accomplishing the goals and benchmarks described in section 
        201(b);
            (2) highlighting executive branch agency conservation 
        programs and projects that have the potential for replication 
        or adaptation, particularly at low cost, in other United States 
        international conservation efforts;
            (3) identifying progress made in increasing the efficiency 
        and effectiveness of United States international conservation 
        programs and reducing executive branch agency overhead or 
        project administration costs for conservation programs 
        implemented abroad;
            (4) identification of unsuccessful projects and programs 
        and the actions taken to improve performance or terminate such 
        projects and programs;
            (5) quantification of the economic benefits that resulted 
        from investments in international conservation programs and 
        activities called for in the Strategy, and an accounting of the 
        measures utilized to calculate such benefits;
            (6) performing policy analyses and outlining options for 
        congressional consideration; and
            (7) any other analysis the Comptroller General considers 
        necessary or appropriate.

SEC. 204. WILDLIFE DEPENDANT RECREATION AND USES OF WILDLIFE.

    (a) Wildlife Dependent Recreation.--No provision in this Act shall 
be construed as restricting, limiting, or otherwise impairing properly 
managed recreational hunting and angling.
    (b) Regulated Uses of Wildlife.--No provision in this Act shall be 
construed as restricting, limiting, or otherwise impairing the ability 
of any foreign jurisdiction or authority to authorize regulated 
programs supporting wildlife for local consumption and 
commercialization.

         TITLE III--SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

SEC. 301. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to leverage significantly United 
States commitments to global natural resources conservation 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, food and water 
security, environmental sustainability, the protection of biodiversity, 
and local and regional security.

SEC. 302. 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 United States International Conservation 
        Strategy established pursuant to section 201(a);
            (2) identify innovative and efficient multilateral 
        mechanisms that can be used to coordinate international action 
        by all participating donor countries, identify and 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; and
            (3) agree on a timetable for achieving the goals of the 
        United States International Conservation Strategy.
    (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.
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