108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2264

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2004

and 2005 to carry out the Congo Basin ForestPartnership (CBFP) program, and for other purposes.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2264

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005

to carry out the Congo Basin Forest Partnership

(CBFP) program, and for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congo Basin Forest

3 Partnership Act of 2003’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds the following:

6 (1) The tropical forests of the Congo Basin, lo7 cated in the Central African countries of Cameroon,

8 the Central African Republic, the Democratic Re9 public of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the

10 Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Sao

11 Tome/Principe, are second in size only to the trop12 ical forests of the Amazon Basin.

13 (2) These forests are a crucial economic re14 source for the people of the Central African region.

15 (3) Congo Basin forests play a critical role in

16 sustaining the environment—absorbing carbon diox17 ide, cleansing water, and retaining soil.

18 (4) Congo Basin forests contain the most di19 verse grouping of plants and animals in Africa, in20 cluding rare and endangered species, such as the

21 lowland gorilla, mountain gorilla, chimpanzee, and

22 okapi. These plants and animals are invaluable for

23 many reasons, including their genetic and bio24 chemical information, which could spark advances in

25 medical, agricultural, and industrial technology.
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1 (5) Logging operations, driven by a growing

2 global demand for tropical hardwoods, are shrinking

3 these forests. One estimate has logging taking out

4 Congo Basin forest area at a rate of twice the size

5 of the State of Rhode Island every year.

6 (6) The construction of logging roads and other

7 developments are putting intense hunting pressure

8 on wildlife. At current hunting levels, most species

9 of apes and other primates, large antelope, and ele10 phants will disappear from the Congo Basin, with

11 some becoming extinct.

12 (7) If current deforestation and wildlife deple13 tion rates are not reversed, the six countries of the

14 Congo Basin most immediately, but also the world,

15 will pay an immense economic, environmental, and

16 cultural price.

17 (8) The United States has an interest in seeing

18 political stability and economic development advance

19 in the Congo Basin countries. This interest will be

20 adversely impacted if current deforestation and wild21 life depletion rates are not reversed.

22 (9) Poorly managed and nonmanaged logging

23 and hunting threatens to do to the Congo Basin

24 what it did to West Africa, which lost much of its

25 forest and wildlife through over-exploitation.
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1 (10) Purged of wildlife, some Congo Basin for2 ests already are ‘‘empty forests’’.

3 (11) In an attempt to conserve the forests of

4 the Congo Basin, the region’s governments convened

5 the Yaounde (Cameroon) Forest Summit in March

6 1999.

7 (12) In September 2002, Secretary of State

8 Colin Powell launched the Congo Basin Forest Part9 nership (CBFP) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The

10 CBFP promotes the conservation and sustainable

11 use of the region’s forests, for example, by working

12 to combat poaching, illegal logging, and other

13 unsustainable practices, and giving local populations

14 an economic stake in the preservation of the forests,

15 including through the development of ecotourism.

16 (13)(A) The United States contribution to the

17 CBFP will focus on conserving 11 key landscapes in

18 6 countries—Cameroon, the Central African Repub19 lic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equa20 torial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo—

21 identified at the Yaounde Forest Summit as being of

22 the greatest biological importance to the region.

23 (B) The United States will fund field-based ac24 tivities within these 25,000,000 acres that aim to
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1 support a network of 27 national parks and pro2 tected areas and well-managed forestry concessions.

3 (C) In this way, the work will build on existing

4 United States efforts, including those of the Central

5 African Regional Program for the Environment

6 (CARPE) of the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development, which will implement the

8 CBFP.

9 (14) The CBFP has broad international finan10 cial support, including from non-African govern11 ments, the European Commission, the International

12 Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and nu13 merous nongovernment organizations.

14 (15) A dramatic step toward conserving Congo

15 Basin forests has recently been taken by Gabon. In

16 September 2002, President Omar Bongo announced

17 the creation of 13 national parks, representing over

18 10 percent of Gabon’s surface area. Previously,

19 Gabon had no national park system.

20 (16) With the CBFP and other initiatives,

21 there exists unprecedented momentum for the con22 servation of Congo Basin forests.

23 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated to the President to carry out the Congo Basin For-
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1 est Partnership (CBFP) program $18,600,000 for each

2 of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Of the amounts appro3 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations

4 under the preceding sentence for a fiscal year,

5 $16,000,000 is authorized to be made available to the

6 Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment

7 (CARPE) of the United States Agency for International

8 Development.

9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant

10 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)

11 are authorized to remain available until expended.

Passed the House of Representatives October 7,

2003.

Attest:

Clerk.