119-hres346

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 346 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 346

 Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least 50 percent 
of the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States and 
 encouraging diplomatic community efforts to achieve this goal 
 worldwide.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 24, 2025

Mr. Beyer submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
 Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
 within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least 50 percent 
of the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States and 
 encouraging diplomatic community efforts to achieve this goal 
 worldwide.

Whereas the Earth is facing a crisis of biodiversity loss and species 
 extinction;
Whereas there has been an average 73-percent decrease in population sizes of 
 mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish between 1970 and 2020;
Whereas the recent global rate of species extinction is at least tens-to-
 hundreds of times higher than the average rate over the past ten million 
 years, and has increased sharply since 1900;
Whereas today more than one million plants and animal species are threatened 
 with extinction, including 41 percent of all amphibians and 70 percent 
 of all cycads, and since the 16th century, at least 680 vertebrate 
 species have gone extinct;
Whereas climate change increases the risks of species extinction and 
 irreversible loss of biodiversity, presenting an existential crisis for 
 humans and millions of other species around the world;
Whereas human-driven changes in land and sea use are drivers of both 
 biodiversity loss and climate change;
Whereas ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, and mangroves can 
 sequester large amounts of carbon, and protecting these areas and their 
 wildlife populations can mitigate climate change by preventing carbon 
 from being released into the atmosphere;
Whereas conserving and restoring natural ecosystems provides greater net 
 economic benefits than destroying natural spaces and wildlife for 
 profit;
Whereas industries that foster connection to lands and waters, such as the 
 outdoor recreation industry that supported five million jobs across the 
 United States and accounted for $1.2 trillion in gross output in 2023, 
 enable individuals to have meaningful careers outside in nature;
Whereas establishing protected natural areas can contribute many benefits to 
 people, including by--

    (1) mitigating effects of climate change and buffering the impacts of 
extreme weather events;

    (2) providing cleaner drinking water;

    (3) reducing air pollution;

    (4) being a source of new medicines;

    (5) reducing local rates of infectious diseases and broader risk of 
zoonotic spillover that can contribute to pandemics; and

    (6) supporting pollinators and other beneficial species for food 
production, globally valued at up to more than five hundred billion 
dollars;

Whereas access to nature ensures cultural and spiritual enrichment, as well as 
 physical and mental health benefits;
Whereas all life depends on essential ecosystems, and, therefore, damaging or 
 erasing them can have a profound impact on biodiversity and human health 
 and well-being;
Whereas inequitable policies have led to a targeted denuding of biodiversity in 
 communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal communities, 
 creating great harm and preventing these communities from having equal 
 access to the benefits of biodiversity;
Whereas the degradation and destruction of natural habitat is the primary cause 
 of biological diversity loss at every level;
Whereas only by the preservation and conservation of substantial, more natural, 
 intact habitat than previously envisioned can human-driven extinctions 
 be eliminated;
Whereas the late American biologist E.O. Wilson estimated that protecting half 
 of the Earth's surface would ensure the sustainable persistence of 85 
 percent of the planet's species, and with it, global biodiversity;
Whereas the conservation science community has developed robust tools to inform 
 the identification of natural habitats that provide the best opportunity 
 to safeguard species;
Whereas area-based conservation goals are key to averting biodiversity loss and 
 can be achieved through collaborative efforts, including--

    (1) public-private partnerships, which play a notable role in 
conservation within the United States and around the world;

    (2) stewardship of local communities on the ground and indigenous 
peoples, honoring their rights to lands, territories, and resources; and

    (3) international cooperation; and

Whereas former President Biden's America the Beautiful Initiative and its goal 
 of conserving 30 percent of land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in 
 the United States by 2030 was a crucial first step to protecting 
 biodiversity and mitigating the effects of climate change: Now, 
 therefore, be it
 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--

    (1) the Earth is facing an imminent crisis from the 
 extinction of species and the decline of biodiversity; and

    (2) Congress should work to support protecting and 
 conserving at least 50 percent of the land, freshwater, and 
 ocean ecosystems in the United States and encourage diplomatic 
 community efforts to achieve this goal worldwide, including 
 early and often stakeholder consultation to ensure just impacts 
 and transition.
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