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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 869

To promote biological diversity conservation and cooperation in the Western

Hemisphere, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself, Mr. PORTER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. OBERSTAR,

Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. COLEMAN,

Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mr. MORAN, Mrs.

BYRNE, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To promote biological diversity conservation and cooperation

in the Western Hemisphere, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Western Hemisphere

5 Environmental Cooperation Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The elements of biological diversity offer

2 many actual and yet-to-be-discovered medical,

3 biotechnological, agricultural, and industrial uses.

4 (2) Tropical forests, which contain 50 to 90

5 percent of the species estimated to exist on the

6 earth, are being cleared at the approximate rate of

7 17,000,000 hectares per year.

8 (3) At the rate that tropical forests are dis9 appearing, scientists estimate conservatively that 5

10 to 10 percent of tropical forest species could dis11 appear within the next 30 years.

12 (4) Poverty and limited economic opportunity in

13 Latin America and the Caribbean and other areas of

14 the developing world contribute significantly to the

15 loss of tropical forests and other areas important for

16 biodiversity conservation.

17 (5) Cooperation between United States institu18 tions interested in the potential applications of bio19 logical resources of tropical forests and other areas

20 rich in biodiversity, and governments and nonprofit

21 organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean

22 interested in preserving biological diversity and en23 hancing its economic value, can effectively serve the

24 interests of both conservation and economic growth.
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1 (6) Maintaining access to a continuing and reli2 able supply of biological resources will enhance

3 United States competitiveness.

4 (7) The Convention on Biological Diversity is

5 consistent with the protection of intellectual property

6 rights and with resource exchange agreements.

7 (8) As was made evident through the United

8 Nations Conference on Environment and Develop9 ment, there is international recognition of the impor10 tant link between the protection of the environment

11 and biodiversity and economic growth.

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

13 The purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to encourage the conservation of biological

15 resources and the sustainable use of tropical forests

16 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to secure

17 a continuing and reliable supply of biological re18 sources for United States companies, research insti19 tutes, botanical laboratories, universities, and other

20 institutions interested in the potential uses and ben21 efits of such resources, by—

22 (A) assisting the countries of Latin Amer23 ica and the Caribbean to establish and

24 strengthen biodiversity management organiza25 tions;
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1 (B) creating incentives for resource-shar2 ing entities to enter into resource exchange

3 agreements with biodiversity management orga4 nizations;

5 (C) ensuring that such agreements provide

6 for conservation of biological diversity and for

7 technology transfer and training related to the

8 purposes set forth in the agreements; and

9 (D) ensuring increased understanding of

10 what constitutes properly protected intellectual

11 property rights and fair and equitable distribu12 tion of any benefits arising from the commercial

13 or other use of products developed under such

14 agreements; and

15 (2) to provide for a study of the feasibility of

16 establishing a Western Hemisphere Environmental

17 Partnership to promote hemispheric technological co18 operation on environmental problems.

19 SEC. 4. WESTERN HEMISPHERE BIODIVERSITY COOPERA20 TION PROGRAM.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the

22 Agency for International Development shall establish with23 in the Agency a Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Co24 operation Program to assist in the establishment and

25 strengthening of biodiversity management organizations.
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1 (b) USES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under the

2 program described in subsection (a) shall be used to estab3 lish biodiversity management organizations and strength4 en the ability of such organizations to study and protect

5 biological diversity and to enhance the economic value of

6 the biological resources of Latin America and the Carib7 bean, including assistance for—

8 (1) cataloging and studying biological resources;

9 (2) preparing data bases of biological resources

10 to be used for monitoring the status and distribution

11 of such resources and for commercial purposes;

12 (3) creating the institutional capacity for

13 biodiversity management organizations to negotiate,

14 enter into, and implement resource exchange agree15 ments with resource-sharing entities through train16 ing in areas such as research, contract law and ne17 gotiation, quality control, and management;

18 (4) advising the governments in countries in

19 which biodiversity management organizations oper20 ate on legislation and policies that will conserve bio21 logical diversity and encourage sustainable economic

22 development;

23 (5) facilitating cooperation and exchange of in24 formation among such organizations;
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1 (6) developing and studying the uses of biologi2 cal samples from tropical forests and other areas

3 rich in biodiversity that may provide sustainable eco4 nomic opportunities for communities located in or

5 near such forests and areas; and

6 (7) facilitating cooperation and close consulta7 tion with indigenous peoples in the geographic areas

8 in which biodiversity management organizations

9 operate.

10 (c) DEBT EXCHANGES.—Assistance under this sec11 tion shall include, where appropriate, assistance to

12 biodiversity management organizations for the purchase

13 on the open market of discounted commercial debt of the

14 governments of the countries in which such organizations

15 operate, pursuant to the section 462 entitled ‘‘Assistance

16 for Commercial Debt Exchanges’’, of the Foreign Assist17 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2282), in order to provide

18 such organizations with a steady income for accomplishing

19 the purposes of this section.

20 (d) CONSULTATION.—In administering the program

21 described in subsection (a), the Administrator shall con22 sult with and use the expertise of appropriate United

23 States Government agencies and nongovernmental con24 servation organizations in the United States, Latin Amer25 ica, and the Caribbean.
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1 (e) COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL GOVERN2 MENTS.—The Administrator shall, in carrying out the pro3 gram described in subsection (a), encourage and seek to

4 facilitate close collaboration between biodiversity manage5 ment organizations and the governments of the countries

6 in which the organizations operate.

7 SEC. 5. WESTERN HEMISPHERE BIODIVERSITY COOPERA8 TION GRANTS.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In furtherance of section 2(4)

10 and section 3(1)(B) and (C), the Administrator shall es11 tablish, as part of the program under section 4, a program

12 of Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Cooperation Grants.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—Grants under the program estab14 lished under subsection (a) may be awarded to biodiversity

15 management organizations to encourage the conclusion of

16 resource exchange agreements, between such organiza17 tions and resource-sharing entities, that—

18 (1) strengthen the capacity of the organizations

19 to implement such agreements;

20 (2) promote the conservation of tropical forests;

21 and

22 (3) promote sustainable economic development

23 among the communities living in or near areas rich

24 in biodiversity.
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1 (c) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator may agree to

2 provide a grant under this section to a biodiversity man3 agement organization in support of an agreement with a

4 resource-sharing entity in order to assist the organization

5 in fulfilling its obligations to the entity under the agree6 ment if, in the judgment of the Administrator, such a

7 grant would significantly increase the likelihood that an

8 agreement would be concluded or would significantly in9 crease the benefits of the agreement for the organization

10 and for the conservation of tropical forests and other areas

11 important for biodiversity conservation.

12 (d) CRITERIA.—Among the criteria that the Adminis13 trator should use in determining whether or not to make

14 a grant under this section to an organization with respect

15 to an agreement are whether the agreement will provide—

16 (1) that at least 50 percent of the value of all

17 benefits provided to the organization by the re18 source-sharing entity under the agreement will be

19 provided by the organization to the government of

20 the country or countries in which the resources re21 ferred to in the agreement originate, for use in the

22 conservation of tropical forests and other areas im23 portant for biodiversity conservation;

24 (2) that the entity will—
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1 (A) give or lend equipment to the organiza2 tion to carry out the agreement; and

3 (B) train staff of the organization, or staff

4 affiliated with the organization, in carrying out

5 the responsibilities assigned to the organization

6 under the agreement; and

7 (3) that the organization assures that intellec8 tual property rights will be properly protected and

9 that the resource-sharing entity assures that any

10 benefits arising from the commercial or other use of

11 products developed under such agreements are

12 shared in a fair and equitable way with the country

13 of origin.

14 (e) CHARACTERISTICS OF GRANTS.—A grant under

15 this section shall—

16 (1) be used only to support the purposes of the

17 agreement for which it is provided;

18 (2) be not larger than $100,000 for any agree19 ment; and

20 (3) represent not more than 20 percent of the

21 initial financial investment of the entity under the

22 agreement.

23 (f) UNITED STATES NOT TO RECEIVE PROCEEDS.—

24 The United States shall not make, as a condition of any

25 assistance under section 4 or a grant under this section,
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1 that the United States Government receive any part of any

2 proceeds or profits generated under any resource exchange

3 agreement entered into by a biodiversity management

4 organization.

5 (g) TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under

6 section 4 and grants under this section shall not be consid7 ered assistance for purposes of any provision of law limit8 ing assistance to any country.

9 SEC. 6. WESTERN HEMISPHERE ENVIRONMENTAL PART10 NERSHIP.

11 (a) STUDY.—The President shall direct an appro12 priate Federal entity to study the feasibility of establishing

13 a Western Hemisphere Environmental Partnership to pro14 mote hemispheric technological cooperation on environ15 mental problems, the purpose of which would be—

16 (1) to promote public-private sector partner17 ships to address environmental problems and to in18 crease environmental protection in the Western

19 Hemisphere;

20 (2) to facilitate cooperation between the United

21 States and the countries of Latin America and the

22 Caribbean in the application of technology to envi23 ronmental problems;

24 (3) to provide for the training in sound environ25 mental practices of appropriate personnel from gov-
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1 ernment, industry, and nongovernmental organiza2 tions in Latin America and the Caribbean by person3 nel with appropriate expertise from similar organiza4 tions in the United States;

5 (4) to develop innovative mechanisms for fi6 nancing improvements in the environmental protec7 tion capacity of countries in Latin America and the

8 Caribbean through debt exchanges, issuance of

9 bonds, and other market-based incentives;

10 (5) to help countries in the region to develop

11 appropriate technologies to meet their specific envi12 ronmental needs; and

13 (6) to facilitate information-sharing within the

14 Western Hemisphere on the use of environmental

15 technologies and services to address environmental

16 problems.

17 (b) ROLE OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.—In

18 conducting the study under subsection (a), the Committee

19 shall explore the role of the United States Government in

20 a Western Hemisphere Environmental Partnership.

21 (c) PRECEDENTS.—In conducting the study under

22 subsection (a), the Committee shall take into account the

23 experiences of the United States-Asia Environmental

24 Partnership and the Caribbean Environment and Develop25 ment Institute.
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1 SEC. 7. REPORTS.

2 (a) FIRST REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall

4 submit to the Congress a report on the implementation

5 of this Act, including—

6 (1) the establishment of the Western Hemi7 sphere Biodiversity Cooperation Program under sec8 tion 4 and the Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Co9 operation Grants under section 5; and

10 (2) the results of the study of a Western Hemi11 sphere Environmental Partnership under section 6,

12 together with the President’s recommendations for

13 action by the Congress.

14 (b) SUBSEQUENT ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each year fol15 lowing the report referred to in subsection (a), the Presi16 dent shall submit to the Congress a further report on the

17 implementation of this Act.

18 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

19 As used in this Act—

20 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad21 ministrator of the Agency for International Develop22 ment;

23 (2) the term ‘‘biodiversity management organi24 zation’’ means a nonprofit local or regional organiza25 tion in Latin America or the Caribbean whose pur-
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1 poses include the study and protection of biological

2 diversity and the enhancement of its economic value;

3 (3) the term ‘‘resource-sharing entity’’ means a

4 public or private institution in the United States, in5 cluding a company, research institute, botanical lab6 oratory, or university, that is undertaking activities

7 relating to the potential applications of biological re8 sources of tropical forests and other areas rich in

9 biodiversity; and

10 (4) the term ‘‘resource exchange agreement’’

11 means an agreement between a biodiversity manage12 ment organization and resource-sharing entity under

13 which the biodiversity management organization pro14 vides the resource-sharing entity with information on

15 or samples of biological resources in exchange for

16 benefits (including payment of money, technology

17 transfer, or training) provided to the biodiversity

18 management organization.

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