[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 494

Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish a national 
   biodiversity strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and 
                          future generations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 12, 2023

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Cardin, 
 Mr. Welch, and Mr. Booker) submitted the following resolution; which 
     was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish a national 
   biodiversity strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and 
                          future generations.

Whereas the planet is facing an unprecedented biodiversity crisis, largely 
        driven by human activity;
Whereas recent scientific studies have confirmed human-driven activities are 
        significantly damaging the ecosystems of the planet by--

    (1) altering 75 percent of the area of terrestrial environments and 66 
percent of marine environments;

    (2) directly exploiting wildlife and plant species;

    (3) accelerating climate change, directly harming nature and 
exacerbating other threats;

    (4) polluting air, land, and water; and

    (5) introducing invasive species;

Whereas recent scientific studies have shown that human-driven threats have 
        harmed biodiversity by--

    (1) threatening approximately 1,000,000 species with imminent or near 
extinction, including--

    G    (A) more than 40 percent of amphibians;

    G    (B) 33 percent of corals, sharks, shark relatives, and marine 
mammals;

    G    (C) more than 60 percent of cycads and more than 30 percent of 
conifer trees; and

    G    (D) approximately 10 percent of the more than 5,000,000 insect 
species on the planet; and

    (2) causing population sizes of wild species to decline by--

    G    (A) an average of 68 percent for species of mammals, birds, fish, 
amphibians, and reptiles;

    G    (B) approximately 3,000,000,000 birds in North America since 1970;

    G    (C) approximately 50 percent for species of live corals; and

    G    (D) an average of more than 20 percent overall;

Whereas human activity is accelerating the decline of important economic and 
        cultural services, including--

    (1) land productivity, with a reduction in the productivity of 
approximately \1/4\ of the land surface;

    (2) land and freshwater resources, with more than \1/3\ of the land 
surface and 75 percent of freshwater resources devoted to crop or livestock 
production;

    (3) global crops, with approximately $500,000,000,000 of global crops 
at risk due to pollinator loss;

    (4) marine fisheries, with \1/3\ of marine fisheries overfished, 60 
percent fished at capacity, and only 7 percent fished below capacity; and

    (5) environmental health, with 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions 
caused by land clearing, crops, and fertilization;

Whereas the decline of biodiversity disproportionately impacts indigenous and 
        other communities that rely on nature for essential services, including 
        Native Americans and Alaska Natives, who offer unique perspectives and 
        traditional ecological knowledge critical to preserving biodiversity;
Whereas the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services observed worldwide is 
        occurring in the United States;
Whereas the United States possesses an abundance and great diversity of species 
        of fish, wildlife, and plants that are of significant value to the 
        United States for intrinsic, aesthetic, ecological, educational, 
        cultural, recreational, economic, and scientific reasons;
Whereas the decline of biodiversity presents a direct threat to the security, 
        health, and well-being of the people of the United States by causing 
        economic harm through the loss of valuable ecosystem services, including 
        zoonotic disease buffering, pollination, water filtration, soil 
        replenishment, the provision of game species, medicinal products, and 
        recreational opportunities;
Whereas communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal communities, and 
        other populations that have been systematically and deliberately 
        targeted for citing environmentally degrading activities and excluded 
        from conservation efforts face disproportionate impacts from 
        biodiversity loss;
Whereas Federal agencies are tasked with protecting and conserving biodiversity 
        in the United States and worldwide through a variety of legal and policy 
        channels;
Whereas there is no coordinating policy to maximize the effectiveness of the 
        conservation efforts of the Federal Government and collaboration by the 
        Federal Government with States, local governments, Indian Tribes, 
        private landowners, and other nongovernmental stakeholders;
Whereas the United States should play a leading role on the international stage 
        in addressing the biodiversity crisis, yet the United States--

    (1) is not a party to--

    G    (A) the Convention on Biological Diversity, done at Rio de Janeiro 
June 5, 1992;

    G    (B) the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of 
Wild Animals (commonly known as ``the Convention on Migratory Species''), 
done at Bonn November 6, 1979; or

    G    (C) other relevant international agreements;

    (2) does not issue a periodic national biodiversity outlook, contrary 
to most other countries; and

    (3) does not have a national biodiversity strategy as part of the 
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem 
Services; and

Whereas scientific research highlights essential pathways forward, including--

    (1) establishing the effective conservation, restoration, and durable 
protection of not less than 30 percent of an ecologically representative 
area of the lands, freshwaters, and oceans in the United States and in the 
world by 2030 by working collaboratively with governments, land owners, 
fishers, indigenous peoples, communities, and others;

    (2) restoring or rewilding species, degraded habitats, and ensuring 
integrity and connectivity of protected areas;

    (3) retaining and protecting highly intact ecosystems;

    (4) reducing pesticide use to levels not higher than necessary for 
ecologically sustainable and safe food production; and

    (5) addressing the threats posed by invasive species: Now, therefore, 
be it

    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) it is in the national interest for the Federal 
        Government to establish a national biodiversity strategy to--
                    (A) ensure the conservation and restoration of the 
                biodiversity of the United States;
                    (B) secure and restore the ecosystem services 
                provided by nature for current and future generations;
                    (C) deliver on the United Nations Sustainable 
                Development Goals;
                    (D) set ambitious, yet necessary, goals for 
                protecting biodiversity in the coming decades;
                    (E) promote social equity and justice in the 
                conservation of the biodiversity of the United States;
                    (F) coordinate the actions of Federal agencies to 
                advance the conservation of biodiversity;
                    (G) promote collaboration among Federal, State, and 
                Tribal governments, nongovernmental stakeholders, civil 
                society, and international parties to advance 
                conservation;
                    (H) honor the Federal trust obligations to Indian 
                Tribes and Native Americans; and
                    (I) provide global leadership in addressing the 
                biodiversity crisis; and
            (2) the national biodiversity strategy described in 
        paragraph (1) should include direction on--
                    (A) achieving the national goal of conserving not 
                less than 30 percent of the lands and waters of the 
                United States to protect biodiversity and address 
                climate change by 2030 (referred to in this resolution 
                as ``30x30''), supporting international efforts to 
                achieve the same goal on a global scale, and setting 
                other goals necessary to reduce the threats to 
                biodiversity as indicated by the best available 
                scientific information;
                    (B) taking action to protect threatened, 
                endangered, and at-risk species from further 
                imperilment or extinction;
                    (C) climate adaptation and mitigation strategies 
                for biodiversity conservation, including--
                            (i) leading international agreements to 
                        combat climate change, including the decision 
                        of the 21st Conference of Parties of the United 
                        Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 
                        adopted in Paris on December 12, 2015 (commonly 
                        known as the ``Paris Agreement'');
                            (ii) establishing climate refugia and 
                        climate corridors for conservation of species 
                        affected by climate change; and
                            (iii) the rapid build-out of renewable 
                        energy;
                    (D) reviewing existing laws, plans, programs, and 
                strategies that are relevant to addressing threats to 
                biodiversity to assess how the laws, plans, programs, 
                and strategies can contribute to the objectives of this 
                resolution and, as necessary, recommending new laws, 
                plans, programs, and strategies;
                    (E) ensuring integration of biodiversity protection 
                across the activities of the Federal Government, 
                including foreign policy and foreign assistance;
                    (F) advancing conservation in collaboration with 
                State and Tribal governments and on private lands 
                through incentives, funding, technical support, and 
                partnerships;
                    (G) incorporating indigenous knowledge and 
                practices to support conservation and biodiversity, 
                safeguarding the rights and needs of indigenous 
                peoples, and ensuring fulfillment of the Federal trust 
                obligations that apply to government decision making 
                that impacts the interests of Native Americans;
                    (H) ensuring equitable access to nature, inclusive 
                decision making on biodiversity protection, and just 
                allocations of resources to achieve the goals of this 
                resolution, including with respect to systematically 
                and deliberately targeted populations such as 
                communities of color, low-income communities, and 
                Native American communities;
                    (I) establishing regular monitoring and reporting 
                on the status of biodiversity in the United States and 
                globally, including a quadrennial assessment reported 
                to Congress and the people of the United States;
                    (J) prioritizing programs to identify knowledge 
                gaps and accelerate research and development of new 
                conservation solutions across sectors;
                    (K) assessing and integrating the role of the 
                United States in international biodiversity, ecosystem 
                services, and nature conservation in--
                            (i) national security and foreign policy 
                        strategies, including in international 
                        development policies, planning and finance, 
                        diplomatic dialogues, and trade agreements; and
                            (ii) advancing global adoption of and 
                        progress toward 30x30; and
                    (L) funding existing conservation programs, 
                developing new funding sources, and reducing subsidies 
                that harm biodiversity in amounts commensurate with the 
                scale of the harm to biodiversity.
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