[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 248 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 248
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
May 22, 2025
Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal) 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 that 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 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, freshwater, 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 and 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--
(A) to ensure the conservation and restoration of
the biodiversity of the United States;
(B) to secure and restore the ecosystem services
provided by nature for current and future generations;
(C) to deliver on the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals;
(D) to set ambitious, yet necessary, goals for
protecting biodiversity in the coming decades;
(E) to promote social equity and justice in the
conservation of the biodiversity of the United States;
(F) to coordinate the actions of Federal agencies
to advance the conservation of biodiversity;
(G) to promote collaboration among Federal, State,
and Tribal governments, nongovernmental stakeholders,
civil society, and international parties to advance
conservation;
(H) to honor the Federal trust obligations to
Indian Tribes and Native Americans; and
(I) to 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 land 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 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 decisionmaking
that impacts the interests of Native Americans;
(H) ensuring equitable access to nature, inclusive
decisionmaking 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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