[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5923-S5924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 494--EXPRESSING THE NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 
     TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING 
            BIODIVERSITY FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS

  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:

                              S. Res. 494

       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--
         (A) more than 40 percent of amphibians;
         (B) 33 percent of corals, sharks, shark relatives, and 
     marine mammals;
         (C) more than 60 percent of cycads and more than 30 
     percent of conifer trees; and
         (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--
         (A) an average of 68 percent for species of mammals, 
     birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles;
         (B) approximately 3,000,000,000 birds in North America 
     since 1970;
         (C) approximately 50 percent for species of live corals; 
     and
         (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--
         (A) the Convention on Biological Diversity, done at Rio 
     de Janeiro June 5, 1992;
         (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
         (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

[[Page S5924]]

     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 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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