[House Report 105-59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                     105-59
_______________________________________________________________________


 
       AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1997

                                _______
                                

 April 21, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany H.R. 39]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 39) to reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Act, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                         Purpose of Legislation

    The purpose of H.R. 39 is to reauthorize the African 
Elephant Conservation Act.

                  Background and Need for legislation

    In the late 1980s, the population of African elephants 
declined by almost half. In 1979, the total elephant population 
in Africa was approximately 1.3 million animals. In 1987, fewer 
than 700,000 African elephants were alive.
    While drought, disease, and competition for land use 
arising from human population growth were threats to elephant 
populations, the poaching of elephants for their ivory tusks 
reached epidemic proportions in the 1980s and far overshadowed 
the other factors.
    To most Americans, elephants have always been majestic 
creatures loved and admired at zoos throughout this country. To 
many African villagers, however, they are a dangerous nuisance 
that tramples their crops, drinks their water, and terrorizes 
their children. Regrettably, in the 1980s, they also offered an 
opportunity for villagers to feed their families by killing an 
elephant for its ivory and obtaining what was equivalent to a 
year's income.
    Furthermore, the destruction of this flagship species was 
not confined to just a few countries, but was widespread 
throughout the African continent. In fact, there were really 
only four southern African nations--Botswana, Namibia, South 
Africa, and Zimbabwe--that had stable elephant populations and 
effective conservation programs. The rest of the continent was 
fighting a losing battle against poachers who were selling 
illegally-obtained elephant ivory at hugely inflated prices.
    As a nation, the United States consumed about 30 percent of 
the world's carved ivory production. Since most experts 
believed that nearly 80 percent of all ivory was poached, 
consumer purchases in the United States accounted for the death 
of some 27,000 elephants. With the population of African 
elephants declining by nearly nine percent a year, unless this 
slaughter was stopped, the African elephant would have been 
annihilated as a viable population throughout much of its range 
by the end of this century.
    In response to this growing international crisis, Congress 
enacted the African Elephant Conservation Act of 1988 (P.L. 
100-478). The major provisions of this landmark law required 
the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate on a country-by-
country basis the effectiveness of the elephant conservation 
program of each ivory-producing nation; prohibited ivory 
imports from African countries unable to adequately protect 
their elephants from poaching; required intermediary countries 
to stop selling illegally-obtained ivory; established the 
African Elephant Conservation Fund and authorized $5 million 
per year to assist African nations; and required the Secretary 
of the Interior to examine, within three years, the 
effectiveness of Public Law 100-478 in halting the importation 
of illegal ivory into the United States.
    Following the enactment of this law, President George Bush, 
using the authority given to him by the African Elephant 
Conservation Act, banned the importation of all carved elephant 
ivory into the United States on June 6, 1989. In addition, on 
October 11, 1989, the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora voted overwhelmingly 
to place the African elephant on its Appendix I list. By so 
doing, all commercial trade in elephant products was banned 
beginning on January 18, 1990. Finally, in 1992, Congress 
renewed the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to spend 
money from the African Elephant Conservation Fund until 
September 30, 1998. By so doing, Congress is able to 
appropriate up to $5 million a year to the African Elephant 
Conservation Fund to provide grant money for various 
conservation projects to assist this species. The African 
Elephant Conservation Fund has been the only continuous source 
of new money for elephant conservation efforts for the past 
nine years.
    Since the Fund's creation, Congress has appropriated more 
than $7 million to the African Elephant Conservation Fund. This 
money, which has generated an additional $8.6 million in 
private matching funds, was allocated by the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service for some 50 conservation projects in 17 range 
states throughout Africa. These projects have been sponsored by 
a diverse group of conservation organizations including: the 
African Elephant Conservation Coordinating Group, African 
Safari Club of Washington, D.C., the Center for Wildlife 
Conservation, International Union for the Conservation of 
Nature, Safari Club International, Southern Africa Wildlife 
Trust, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife 
Fund.
    Money allocated from the African Elephant Conservation Fund 
has been used to purchase anti-hunting equipment for wildlife 
rangers, to create a comprehensive reference library on the 
African elephant, to undertake elephant population surveys in 
various African countries, to develop and implement elephant 
conservation plans and to move elephants from certain drought 
regions. In fact, the relocation project in Zimbabwe was the 
first time in history that such a large number of elephants 
were successfully moved to new habitats.
    Finally, there are many conservationists who feel that 
without the African Elephant Conservation Fund, the African 
elephant will once again decline and may disappear from much of 
its historic range.
    H.R. 39 will extend the authorization of appropriations for 
the African Elephant Conservation Fund until September 30, 
2002. This will allow Congress to appropriate money to conserve 
African elephants into the next century and to fund additional 
conservation projects.

                          ELEPHANT POPULATIONS                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Country                         1987         1996   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zaire.........................................      145,000       65,000
Tanzania......................................      100,000       74,000
Gabon.........................................       76,000       62,000
Congo.........................................       61,000       32,500
Botswana......................................       51,000       81,000
Zimbabwe......................................       43,000       67,000
Zambia........................................       41,000       20,000
Sudan.........................................       40,000       44,500
Kenya.........................................       35,000       20,000
Cameroon......................................       21,000       22,000
Central African Republic......................       19,000       23,000
Mozambique....................................           --       14,900
Namibia.......................................           --        7,000
South Africa..................................           --        9,990
                                               -------------------------
      Total...................................      632,000      542,890
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: African Elephant Specialist Group                               


                                       AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION FUND                                       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Administration                   
                        Fiscal year                           Authorization        request        Appropriation 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989......................................................              $5 M                 0                 0
1990......................................................               5 M                 0          $350,000
1991......................................................               5 M          $770,000           765,999
1992......................................................               5 M         1,201,000           957,000
1993......................................................               5 M         1,201,000         1,159,000
1994......................................................               5 M         1,169,000         1,137,000
1995......................................................               5 M         1,169,000         1,166,767
1996......................................................               5 M         1,169,000           600,000
1997......................................................               5 M           601,000         1,000,000
1998......................................................               5 M         1,000,000                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 39 was introduced by the Chairman of the Resources 
Committee, Congressman Don Young (R-AK) and Congressman Randy 
(Duke) Cunningham (R-CA) on January 7, 1997, and referred to 
the Committee on Resources. Within the Committee, the bill was 
referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, 
Wildlife and Oceans. On February 4, 1997, the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, Congressman Newt Gingrich (R-GA), 
cosponsored the bill.
    On March 13, 1997, the Subcommittee on Fisheries 
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans conducted a hearing on H.R. 
39. Testimony was heard from Congressman Cunningham; Mr. 
Marshall Jones, Assistant Director for International Affairs, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior; Dr. 
Terry Maple, Director, Zoo Atlanta; the Honorable Ron Marlenee, 
Director of Legislative Affairs, Safari Club International; Ms. 
Gina DeFerrari, Director of Traffic, World Wildlife Fund; Dr. 
Teresa Telecky, Director of Wildlife Trade Program, Humane 
Society of the United States; and Dr. Brian Child, Luangwa 
Integrated Rural Development Programme, Zambia. There was 
unanimous support for the enactment of H.R. 39. In his 
statement, the representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service indicated that the African Elephant Conservation Fund 
``provided a critical incentive for governments of the world, 
non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to work 
together for a common conservation goal. This is not a hand 
out, but a helping hand.''
    On March 19, 1997, the Subcommittee on Fisheries 
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans considered H.R. 39 in a mark-
up session and ordered it reported favorably, without 
amendment, to the Full Committee on Resources by voice vote.
    On April 16, 1997, the Full Committee on Resources met to 
consider H.R. 39. There were no amendments and the Committee 
ordered the bill favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of Rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 39.

                        Cost of the Legislation

    Clause 7(a) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 39. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     Compliance With House Rule XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 39 
does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, 
credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 39.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 39 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 17, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 39, the African 
Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1997.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                 June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 39--African Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1997

                                SUMMARY

    H.R. 39 would reauthorize, through fiscal year 2002, annual 
appropriations to the African Elephant Conservation Fund at the 
existing authorization level of up to $5 million. The current 
authorization expires on September 30, 1998. The Secretary of 
the Interior uses this fund primarily to help finance research 
and conservation programs overseas. From its inception in 1991 
through 1996, the fund has spent a total of $7 million in 
appropriated and donated funds.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 39 would result in additional 
discretionary spending of $17 million over the 1999-2002 
period. The legislation would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. 
H.R. 39 does not contain any intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
of 1995, and would have no impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.

                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 39 is shown in the 
table on the following page. The authorization level specified 
by the bill is the same as the current authorization but about 
$4 million higher than annual appropriations have been since 
this program's inception.
    For purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire 
amounts authorized by H.R. 39 would be appropriated for each of 
fiscal years 1999 through 2002. Outlay estimates are based on 
historical spending patterns for this program.

                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Fiscal year--                      
                                                     -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                        1997      1998      1999      2000      2001      2002  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION                                       
                                                                                                                
Spending under current law:                                                                                     
    Authorization level \1\.........................         1         5         0         0         0         0
    Estimated outlays...............................         2         4         2         1         0         0
Proposed changes:                                                                                               
    Authorization level.............................         0         0         5         5         5         5
    Estimated outlays...............................         0         0         3         4         5         5
Spending under H.R. 39:                                                                                         
    Authorization level \1\.........................         1         5         5         5         5         5
    Estimated outlays...............................         2         4         5         5         5        5 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1997 level is the amount appropriated for that year. The 1998 level is the amount authorized under      
  current law.                                                                                                  

    The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 
300 (natural resources and environment).
    Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.

              intergovernmental and private-sector impact

    H.R. 39 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
and would have no impact on the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Deborah Reis.
    Estimates approved by: Robert S. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 39 contains no unfunded mandates.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

         SECTION 2306 OF THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT

SEC. 2306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund and to 
the Secretary a total of not to exceed $5,000,000 for each of 
[fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998] 
fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 to carry 
out this title, to remain available until expended.

                                
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