H. R. 4924

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four

An Act

To assist in the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers by supporting and providing

financial resources for the conservation programs of nations whose activities

directly or indirectly affect rhinoceros and tiger populations, and of the CITES

Secretariat.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) The world’s rhinoceros population is declining at an

alarming rate, a 90 percent decline since 1970.

(2) All 5 subspecies of tiger are currently threatened with

extinction in the wild, with approximately 5,000 to 6,000 tigers

remaining worldwide.

(3) All rhinoceros species have been listed on Appendix

I of CITES since 1977.

(4) All tiger subspecies have been listed on Appendix I

of CITES since 1987.

(5) The tiger and all rhinoceros species, except the southern

subspecies of white rhinoceros, are listed as endangered species

under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.).

(6) In 1987, the parties to CITES adopted a resolution

that urged all parties to establish a moratorium on the sale

and trade in rhinoceros products (other than legally taken

trophies), to destroy government stockpiles of rhinoceros horn,

and to exert pressure on countries continuing to allow trade

in rhinoceros products.

(7) On September 7, 1993, under section 8 of the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978) the Secretary

certified that the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan were

engaged in trade of rhinoceros parts and tiger parts that diminished the effectiveness of an international conservation program

for that endangered species.

(8) On September 9, 1993, the Standing Committee of

CITES, in debating the continuing problem of trade in rhinoceros horn and tiger parts, adopted a resolution urging parties

to CITES to implement stricter domestic measures, up to and

including an immediate prohibition in trade in wildlife species.
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(9) On November 8, 1993, under section 8 of the Fisherman’s Protection Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), the President

announced that the United States would impose trade sanctions

against China and Taiwan unless substantial progress was

made by March 1994 towards ending trade in rhinoceros and

tiger products. (10) On April 11, 1994, under section 8 of the Fisherman’s Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978), the President—

(A) directed that imports of wildlife specimens and

products from Taiwan be prohibited, in response to Taiwan’s failure to undertake sufficient actions to stop illegal

rhinoceros and tiger trade; and (B) indicated that the certification of China would

remain in effect and directed that additional monitoring

of China’s progress be undertaken.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are the following: (1) To assist in the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers

by supporting the conservation programs of nations whose

activities directly or indirectly affect rhinoceros and tiger populations, and the CITES Secretariat.

(2) To provide financial resources for those programs.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act—

(1) ‘‘CITES’’ means the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed on

March 3, 1973, and its appendices;

(2) ‘‘conservation’’ means the use of all methods and procedures necessary to bring rhinoceros and tigers to the point

at which there are sufficient populations to ensure that those

species do not become extinct, including all activities associated

with scientific resource management, such as research, census,

law enforcement, habitat protection, acquisition, and management, propagation, live trapping, and transportation;

(3) ‘‘Fund’’ means the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation

Fund established under section 6(a);

(4) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior; and

(5) ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency

for International Development.

SEC. 5. RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to the availability

of appropriations and in consultation with the Administrator, shall

use amounts in the Fund to provide financial assistance for projects

for the conservation of rhinoceros and tigers. (b) PROJECT PROPOSAL.—A country whose activities directly

or indirectly affect rhinoceros or tiger populations, the CITES Secretariat, or any other person may submit to the Secretary a project

proposal under this section. Each proposal shall—

(1) name the individual responsible for conducting the

project; (2) state the purposes of the project succinctly;

(3) describe the qualifications of the individuals who will

conduct the project;

(4) estimate the funds and time required to complete the

project;
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(5) provide evidence of support of the project by appropriate

governmental entities of countries in which the project will

be conducted, if the Secretary determines that the support

is required for the success of the project; and

(6) provide any other information the Secretary considers

to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the project

for funding under this Act.

(c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Within 30 days of receiving a final project proposal, the Secretary shall provide a copy

of the proposal to the Administrator. The Secretary shall review

each final project proposal to determine if it meets the criteria

set forth in subsection (d). Not later than 6 months after receiving

a final project proposal, and subject to the availability of funds,

the Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator, shall

approve or disapprove the proposal and provide written notification

to the person who submitted the proposal, to the Administrator,

and to each country within which the project is to be conducted.

(d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may approve a

project under this section if the project will enhance programs

for conservation of rhinoceros or tigers by assisting efforts to—

(1) implement conservation programs;

(2) enhance compliance with provisions of CITES and laws

of the United States or a foreign country that prohibit or

regulate the taking or trade of rhinoceros or tigers or the

use of rhinoceros or tiger habitat; or

(3) develop sound scientific information on that species’

habitat condition and carrying capacity, total numbers and

population trends, or annual reproduction and mortality.

(e) PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.—To the maximum extent practical, the Secretary should give consideration to projects which

will enhance sustainable development programs to ensure effective,

long-term conservation of rhinoceros and tigers. (f) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each person that receives assistance

under this section for a project shall provide periodic reports, as

the Secretary considers necessary, to the Secretary and the

Administrator. Each report shall include all information requested

by the Secretary, after consulting with the Administrator, for

evaluating the progress and success of the project.

SEC. 6. RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION FUND.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the general fund

of the Treasury a separate account to be known as the ‘‘Rhinoceros

and Tiger Conservation Fund’’, which shall consist of amounts

deposited into the Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury under

subsection (b).

(b) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—The Secretary of the Treasury

shall deposit into the Fund—

(1) all amounts received by the Secretary in the form

of donations under subsection (d); and

(2) other amounts appropriated to the Fund.

(c) USE.—

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

may use amounts in the Fund without further appropriation

to provide assistance under section 5.

(2) ADMINISTRATION.—Of amounts in the Fund available

for each fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than

3 percent to administer the Fund.
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(d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Secretary may

accept and use donations to provide assistance under section 5.

Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of donations shall

be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into

the Fund.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund

$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and

2000 to carry out this Act, to remain available until expended.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.