II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1007

To assist in the conservation of great apes by supporting and providing

financial resources for the conservation programs of countries within

the range of great apes and projects of persons with demonstrated

expertise in the conservation of great apes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 11, 1999

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To assist in the conservation of great apes by supporting

and providing financial resources for the conservation

programs of countries within the range of great apes

and projects of persons with demonstrated expertise in

the conservation of great apes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Ape Conserva5 tion Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) great ape populations have declined to the

2 point that the long-term survival of the species in

3 the wild is in serious jeopardy;

4 (2) the chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, and orang5 utan are listed as endangered species under section

6 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

7 1533) and under Appendix I of the Convention on

8 International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

9 Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249);

10 (3) because the challenges facing the conserva11 tion of great apes are so immense, the resources

12 available to date have not been sufficient to cope

13 with the continued loss of habitat due to human en14 croachment and logging and the consequent diminu15 tion of great ape populations;

16 (4) because great apes are flagship species for

17 the conservation of the tropical forest habitats in

18 which they are found, conservation of great apes

19 provides benefits to numerous other species of wild20 life, including many other endangered species;

21 (5) among the threats to great apes, in addition

22 to habitat loss, are population fragmentation, hunt23 ing for the bushmeat trade, and live capture;

24 (6) great apes are important components of the

25 ecosystems they inhabit, and studies of their wild
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1 populations have provided important biological in2 sights; and

3 (7) the reduction, removal, or other effective

4 addressing of the threats to the long-term viability

5 of populations of great apes in the wild will require

6 the joint commitment and effort of countries that

7 have within their boundaries any part of the range

8 of great apes, the United States and other countries,

9 and the private sector.

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

11 (1) to perpetuate viable populations of great

12 apes in the wild; and

13 (2) to assist in the conservation and protection

14 of great apes by supporting conservation programs

15 of countries in which populations of great apes are

16 located and by supporting the CITES Secretariat.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this Act:

19 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis20 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency for

21 International Development.

22 (2) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the

23 Convention on International Trade in Endangered

24 Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, done at Wash-
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1 ington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249),

2 including its appendices.

3 (3) CONSERVATION.—The term

4 ‘‘conservation’’—

5 (A) means the use of methods and proce6 dures necessary to prevent the diminution of

7 wild populations of a species; and

8 (B) includes all activities associated with

9 wildlife management, such as—

10 (i) conservation, protection, restora11 tion, acquisition, and management of habi12 tat;

13 (ii) in-situ research and monitoring of

14 populations and habitats;

15 (iii) assistance in the development, im16 plementation, and improvement of manage17 ment plans for managed habitat ranges;

18 (iv) enforcement and implementation

19 of CITES;

20 (v) enforcement and implementation

21 of domestic laws relating to resource man22 agement;

23 (vi) development and operation of

24 sanctuaries for members of a species res25 cued from the illegal trade in live animals;
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1 (vii) programs for the rehabilitation of

2 members of a species and release of the

3 members into the wild;

4 (viii) conflict resolution initiatives;

5 and

6 (ix) community outreach and edu7 cation.

8 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Great

9 Ape Conservation Fund established by section 5.

10 (5) GREAT APE.—The term ‘‘great ape’’ means

11 a chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, or orangutan.

12 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 SEC. 4. GREAT APE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of

16 funds and in consultation with the Administrator, the Sec17 retary shall use amounts in the Fund to provide financial

18 assistance for projects for the conservation of great apes

19 for which project proposals are approved by the Secretary

20 in accordance with this section.

21 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—

22 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A proposal for a

23 project for the conservation of great apes may be

24 submitted to the Secretary by—
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1 (A) any wildlife management authority of

2 a country that has within its boundaries any

3 part of the range of a great ape if the activities

4 of the authority directly or indirectly affect a

5 great ape population;

6 (B) the CITES Secretariat; or

7 (C) any person or group with the dem8 onstrated expertise required for the conserva9 tion of great apes.

10 (2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal

11 shall include—

12 (A) a concise statement of the purposes of

13 the project;

14 (B) the name of the individual responsible

15 for conducting the project;

16 (C) a description of the qualifications of

17 the individuals who will conduct the project;

18 (D) a concise description of—

19 (i) methods for project implementa20 tion and outcome assessment;

21 (ii) staff and community management

22 for the project; and

23 (iii) the logistics of the project;

24 (E) an estimate of the funds and time re25 quired to complete the project;
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1 (F) evidence of support for the project by

2 appropriate governmental entities of the coun3 tries in which the project will be conducted, if

4 the Secretary determines that such support is

5 required for the success of the project;

6 (G) information regarding the source and

7 amount of matching funding available for the

8 project; and

9 (H) any other information that the Sec10 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating

11 the eligibility of the project for funding under

12 this Act.

13 (c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

15 (A) not later than 30 days after receiving

16 a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro17 posal to the Administrator; and

18 (B) review each project proposal to deter19 mine if the proposal meets the criteria specified

20 in subsection (d).

21 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS22 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving

23 a project proposal, and subject to the availability of

24 funds, the Secretary, after consulting with the Ad25 ministrator, shall—
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1 (A) request written comments on the pro2 posal from the government of each country in

3 which the project is to be conducted;

4 (B) after taking into consideration any

5 comments submitted in response to the request,

6 approve or disapprove the proposal; and

7 (C) provide written notification of the ap8 proval or disapproval to the person who sub9 mitted the proposal, the Administrator, and

10 each country described in subparagraph (A).

11 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may

12 approve a project proposal under this section if the project

13 will enhance programs for conservation of great apes by

14 assisting efforts to—

15 (1) implement conservation programs;

16 (2) address the conflicts between humans and

17 great apes that arise from competition for the same

18 habitat;

19 (3) enhance compliance with CITES and laws

20 of the United States or a foreign country that pro21 hibit or regulate the taking or trade of great apes

22 or regulate the use and management of great ape

23 habitat;

24 (4) develop sound scientific information on, or

25 methods for monitoring—
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1 (A) the condition and health of great ape

2 habitat;

3 (B) great ape population numbers and

4 trends; or

5 (C) the current and projected threats to

6 the habitat, current and projected numbers, or

7 current and projected trends; or

8 (5) promote cooperative projects on the issues

9 described in paragraph (4) among foreign govern10 ments, affected local communities, nongovernmental

11 organizations, or other persons in the private sector.

12 (e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the maximum

13 extent practicable, in determining whether to approve

14 project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall

15 give preference to conservation projects that are designed

16 to ensure effective, long-term conservation of great apes

17 and their habitats.

18 (f) MATCHING FUNDS.—In determining whether to

19 approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary

20 shall give preference to projects for which matching funds

21 are available.

22 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each person that receives

24 assistance under this section for a project shall sub25 mit to the Secretary and the Administrator periodic
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1 reports (at such intervals as the Secretary considers

2 necessary) that include all information that the Sec3 retary, after consultation with the Administrator, de4 termines is necessary to evaluate the progress and

5 success of the project for the purposes of ensuring

6 positive results, assessing problems, and fostering

7 improvements.

8 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports

9 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re10 lating to projects for which financial assistance is

11 provided under this Act, shall be made available to

12 the public.

13 (h) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR CAPTIVE BREED14 ING.—Amounts provided as a grant under this Act may

15 not be used for captive breeding of great apes other than

16 for captive breeding for release into the wild.

17 SEC. 5. GREAT APE CONSERVATION FUND.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

19 general fund of the Treasury a trust fund to be known

20 as the ‘‘Great Ape Conservation Fund’’, consisting of—

21 (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the

22 Treasury for deposit into the Fund under subsection

23 (e);

24 (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under

25 section 6; and
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1 (3) any interest earned on investment of

2 amounts in the Fund under subsection (c).

3 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

5 upon request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the

6 Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Sec7 retary, without further appropriation, such amounts

8 as the Secretary determines are necessary to provide

9 assistance under section 4.

10 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount

11 not to exceed 6 percent of the amounts in the Fund

12 shall be available for each fiscal year to pay the ad13 ministrative expenses necessary to carry out this

14 Act.

15 (c) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas17 ury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not,

18 in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury,

19 required to meet current withdrawals. Investments

20 may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of

21 the United States.

22 (2) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the

23 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga24 tions may be acquired—

25 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or
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1 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations

2 at the market price.

3 (3) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac4 quired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of

5 the Treasury at the market price.

6 (4) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and

7 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob8 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and

9 form a part of the Fund.

10 (d) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to be

12 transferred to the Fund under this section shall be

13 transferred at least monthly from the general fund

14 of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti15 mates made by the Secretary of the Treasury.

16 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall

17 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the

18 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than

19 the amounts required to be transferred.

20 (e) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The

21 Secretary may accept and use donations to provide assist22 ance under section 4. Amounts received by the Secretary

23 in the form of donations shall be transferred to the Sec24 retary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund.
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund

3 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

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