II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1548 

To authorize the President to provide assistance to the Governments of 

Haiti and Armenia to reverse the effects of deforestation and restore 

within 20 years the extent of forest levels in Haiti and Armenia in 

existence during the year 1990, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 24), 2013 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize the President to provide assistance to the Governments of Haiti and Armenia to reverse the effects 

of deforestation and restore within 20 years the extent 

of forest levels in Haiti and Armenia in existence during 

the year 1990, 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 ‘‘Haiti and Armenia 

5 Reforestation Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the established policy of the Federal Gov2 ernment is to support and seek protection of forests 

3 around the world that provide a wide range of bene4 fits by— 

5 (A) harboring a major portion of the bio6 logical and terrestrial resources of Earth and 

providing habitats for almost 2 7 ⁄3 of all species 

8 on Earth, including species essential to medical 

9 research and agricultural productivity; 

10 (B) contributing to the livelihood of over 

11 1,600,000,000 people through access to food, 

12 fresh water, clothing, traditional medicines, and 

13 shelter; 

14 (C) ensuring environmental functions such 

15 as biodiversity, water conservation, soil enrich16 ment, water supply management, and climate 

17 regulation; and 

18 (D) storing carbon, where deforestation ac19 counts for up to 20 percent of the global green20 house gas emissions that contribute to global 

21 warming; 

(2) while forests cover a little less than 1 22 ⁄3 of 

23 the land area on our planet, approximately 76 per24 cent of the planet’s original primary forests have 

25 been destroyed or degraded; 


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1 (3) in 1923, over 60 percent of the land of 

2 Haiti was forested but, by 2006, that percentage 

3 had decreased to approximately less than 2 percent 

4 as a result of— 

5 (A) an acceleration in the rate of deforest6 ation in Haiti by more than 20 percent during 

7 the period beginning in 2000 and ending in 

8 2005 compared to the period beginning in 1990 

9 and ending in 1999; and 

10 (B) a loss of nearly 10 percent (approxi11 mately 11,000 hectares) of the forest cover and 

12 approximately 22 percent of the total forest and 

13 woodland habitat of Haiti; 

14 (4) while archeological data indicated that ap15 proximately 35 percent of Armenia was originally 

16 forested, less than 12 percent of Armenia’s territory 

17 was covered in forest in 1990, which has been re18 duced to approximately less than 7 percent by 2013 

19 as a result of an energy crisis that crippled the na20 tion in the 1990s and a loss of total of 24.5 percent 

21 (nearly 85,000 hectares) of forest cover during the 

22 period between 1990 and 2010; 

23 (5) poverty and economic pressures are— 

24 (A) two factors that underlie the deforest25 ation of Haiti and Armenia; and 


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1 (B) manifested particularly through the 

2 clearing of vast areas of forest for conversion to 

agricultural uses where 2 3 ⁄5 of the population of 

4 Haiti depend on the agricultural sector, which 

5 consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farm6 ing, and where wood and charcoal produced 

7 from cutting down trees accounts for a major 

8 supply toward Haiti’s and Armenia’s energy 

9 sectors; 

10 (6) 80 percent of the population of Haiti lives 

11 below the poverty line and 36 percent of the popu12 lation of Armenia lives below the poverty line; 

13 (7) soil erosion represents a significant effect of 

14 the deforestation of Haiti and Armenia, as erosion 

15 has— 

16 (A) lowered the productivity on the land 

17 due to poor soils underlying the forests; 

18 (B) worsened the severity of droughts, 

19 landslides, and floods; 

20 (C) led to further deforestation; 

21 (D) significantly decreased the quality and, 

22 as a result, quantity of freshwater and clean 

23 drinking water available to populations; and 

24 (E) increased the pressure on the remain25 ing land and trees in Haiti and Armenia; 


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1 (8) forests provide cover to soften the effect of 

2 heavy rains and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil 

3 with their roots; 

4 (9) research conducted by the United Nations 

5 Environmental Programme has revealed a direct (89 

6 percent) correlation between the extent of the defor7 estation of a country and the incidence of victims 

8 per weather event in the country; 

9 (10) both Haiti and Armenia have faced nat10 ural disasters in recent years that have been at least 

11 partly exacerbated by the effects of deforestation, 

12 such as— 

13 (A) flooding in Armenia that has cost 

14 nearly $33,000,000 in damages each year and 

15 swept away or damaged thousands of homes, 

16 schools, health clinics, and other institutions, 

17 partly because of damage to forests through il18 legal loggings, landslides, and soil erosion; 

19 (B) hurricanes in Haiti that have killed 

20 thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands 

21 more, partly because deforestation had resulted 

22 in the clearing of large hillsides, which enabled 

23 rainwater to run off directly to settlements lo24 cated at the bottom of slopes; and 


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1 (C) the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 

2 which destroyed much of the infrastructure of 

3 Port au Prince and had greater consequences 

4 because of deforestation, which reduced hillside 

5 stability and increased the likelihood of mud6 slides, soil erosion, and flooding factors, which 

7 also negatively impacted the water supply and 

8 heightened concerns for the spread of water9 borne diseases; 

10 (11) economic benefits for local communities 

11 from sustainable uses of forests are critical for the 

12 long-term sustainable management of forests in 

13 Haiti and Armenia; 

14 (12) on July 29, 2010, the Supplemental Ap15 propriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–212) was 

16 enacted into law, which included $25,000,000 for 

17 ‘‘the reforestation and other restoration of Haiti’s 

18 key watersheds’’; and 

19 (13) reforestation efforts would provide new 

20 sources of jobs, income, and investments in both 

21 Haiti and Armenia by— 

22 (A) providing employment opportunities in 

23 tree seedling programs, contract tree planting 

24 and management, sustainable agricultural ini25 tiatives, sustainable and managed timber harVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:04 Oct 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1548.IS S1548

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1 vesting, and wood products milling and fin2 ishing services; and 

3 (B) enhancing community enterprises that 

4 generate income through the trading of sustain5 able forest resources, many of which exist on 

6 small scales. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

8 assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Govern9 ment of Armenia to develop and implement, or improve, 

10 nationally appropriate policies and actions— 

11 (1) to reduce deforestation and forest degrada12 tion and improve forest management and natural re13 generation; 

14 (2) to increase annual rates of afforestation and 

15 reforestation in a sustainable, measurable, report16 able, and verifiable manner— 

17 (A) to restore social and economic condi18 tions for environmental recovery of— 

19 (i) 35 percent of Haiti’s and Arme20 nia’s land surface areas within 7 years 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act; 

22 and 

23 (ii) the forest cover of Haiti and Ar24 menia to at least 7 percent in Haiti and at 

25 least 12 percent in Armenia (about each 


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1 country’s respective levels in 1990) within 

2 20 years after the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act; and 

4 (3) to improve sustainable resource manage5 ment at the watershed scale. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AFFORESTATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘afforesta10 tion’’ means the establishment of a new forest 

11 through the seeding of, or planting of trees on, 

12 a parcel of nonforested land. 

13 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘afforestation’’ 

14 includes— 

15 (i) the introduction of a tree species 

16 to a parcel of nonforested land of which 

17 the species is not a native species; and 

18 (ii) the increase of tree cover through 

19 plantations. 

20 (2) AGROFORESTRY.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘agroforest22 ry’’ refers to systems in which perennial trees 

23 or shrubs are integrated with crops or livestock, 

24 and where perennials constitute a minimum 10 

25 percent of ground cover. 


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1 (B) INCLUSION.—Actual forest cover re2 sulting from agroforestry programs can be 

3 counted toward the total forest cover goal set 

4 forth in section (2)(b). 

5 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

9 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

12 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

13 of Representatives. 

14 (4) DEFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘deforesta15 tion’’ refers to the conversion of forest to another 

16 land use or the long term reduction of the tree can17 opy. 

18 (5) FOREST.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘forest’’ 

20 means a terrestrial ecosystem containing native 

21 tree species generated and maintained primarily 

22 through natural ecological and evolutionary 

23 processes. 

24 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘forest’’ does 

25 not include plantations, such as crops of trees 


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1 planted primarily by humans for the purposes 

2 of harvesting. 

3 (6) REFORESTATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘reforesta5 tion’’ refers to the establishment of forest on 

6 lands that were previously considered as forest, 

7 but which have been deforested. 

8 (B) INCLUSION OF PLANTATIONS.—The 

9 term ‘‘reforestation’’ includes the increase of 

10 tree cover through plantations. 

11 TITLE I—FORESTATION AND WA12 TERSHED MANAGEMENT AS13 SISTANCE TO THE GOVERN14 MENT OF HAITI AND THE 

15 GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA 

16 SEC. 101. FORESTATION ASSISTANCE. 

17 (a) AUTHORITY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 

19 118 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

20 U.S.C. 2151p) and consistent with the provisions of 

21 paragraph (2), the President is authorized to provide 

22 assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Gov23 ernment of Armenia in the form of financial assist24 ance, technology transfers, or capacity building as25 sistance for the conduct of activities to develop and 


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1 implement one or more forestation proposals under 

2 paragraph (2)— 

3 (A) to reduce the deforestation of Haiti 

4 and Armenia; and 

5 (B) to increase the rates of afforestation 

6 and reforestation in Haiti and Armenia. 

7 (2) PROPOSALS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Assistance under this 

9 title may be provided to the Government of 

10 Haiti and the Government of Armenia to imple11 ment one or more proposals that contain— 

12 (i) a description of each policy and 

13 initiative to be carried out using the assist14 ance; 

15 (ii) adequate documentation to ensure, 

16 as determined by the President, that— 

17 (I) each policy and initiative will 

18 be— 

19 (aa) carried out and man20 aged in accordance with widely 

21 accepted environmentally sustain22 able forestry and agricultural 

23 practices; and 

24 (bb) designed and imple25 mented in a manner by which to 


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1 improve the governance of forests 

2 by building governmental capac3 ity to be more transparent, inclu4 sive, accountable, and coordi5 nated in decisionmaking proc6 esses and the implementation of 

7 the policy or initiative; and 

8 (II) the proposals will further es9 tablish and enforce legal regimes, 

10 standards, and safeguards designed to 

11 ensure that members of local commu12 nities in affected areas, as partners 

13 and primary stakeholders, will be en14 gaged in the design, planning, imple15 mentation, monitoring, and evaluation 

16 of the policies and initiatives; and 

17 (iii) a description of how the proposal 

18 or proposals support and aid forest res19 toration efforts consistent with the purpose 

20 set forth in section 2(b). 

21 (B) DETERMINATION OF COMPATIBILITY

22 WITH CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—In evaluating each 

23 proposal under subparagraph (A), the President 

24 shall ensure that each policy and initiative de25 scribed in the proposal submitted by the GovVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:04 Oct 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1548.IS S1548

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1 ernment of Haiti or the Government of Arme2 nia under that subparagraph is compatible 

3 with— 

4 (i) broader development, poverty alle5 viation, sustainable energy usage, and nat6 ural resource conservation objectives and 

7 initiatives in Haiti or Armenia; 

8 (ii) the development, poverty allevi9 ation, disaster risk management, and cli10 mate resilience programs of the United 

11 States Agency for International Develop12 ment, including those involving technical 

13 support from the United States Forest 

14 Service; and 

15 (iii) activities of international organi16 zations and multilateral development 

17 banks. 

18 (b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Any assistance received 

19 by the Government of Haiti or the Government of Armenia 

20 under subsection (a)(1) shall be conditional upon develop21 ment and implementation of a proposal under subsection 

22 (a)(2), which may include— 

23 (1) the provision of technologies and associated 

24 support for activities to reduce deforestation or inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:04 Oct 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1548.IS S1548

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1 crease afforestation and reforestation rates, includ2 ing— 

3 (A) fire reduction initiatives; 

4 (B) forest law enforcement initiatives; 

5 (C) the development of timber tracking 

6 systems; 

7 (D) the development of cooking fuel sub8 stitutes; 

9 (E) initiatives to increase agricultural pro10 ductivity; 

11 (F) tree-planting initiatives; and 

12 (G) programs that are designed to focus on 

13 market-based solutions, including programs 

14 that leverage the international carbon-offset 

15 market; 

16 (2) the enhancement and expansion of govern17 mental and nongovernmental institutional capacity 

18 to effectively design and implement a proposal devel19 oped under subsection (a)(2) through initiatives, in20 cluding— 

21 (A) the establishment of transparent, ac22 countable, and inclusive decisionmaking proc23 esses relating to all stakeholders (including af24 fected local communities); 


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1 (B) the promotion of enhanced coordina2 tion among ministries and agencies responsible 

3 for agro-ecological zoning, mapping, land plan4 ning and permitting, sustainable agriculture, 

5 forestry, mining, and law enforcement; and 

6 (C) the clarification of land tenure and re7 source rights of affected communities, including 

8 local communities; 

9 (3) the development and support of institutional 

10 capacity to measure, verify, and report the activities 

11 carried out by the Government of Haiti and the Gov12 ernment of Armenia to reduce deforestation and in13 crease afforestation and reforestation rates through 

14 the use of appropriate methods, including— 

15 (A) the use of best practices and tech16 nologies to monitor land use change in Haiti 

17 and Armenia, as well as changes in the extent 

18 of natural forest cover, protected areas, 

19 mangroves, agroforestry, and agriculture; 

20 (B) the monitoring of the impacts of poli21 cies and initiatives on— 

22 (i) affected communities; 

23 (ii) the biodiversity of the environment 

24 of Haiti and Armenia; and 


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1 (iii) the health of the forests of Haiti 

2 and Armenia; and 

3 (C) independent and participatory forest 

4 monitoring; and 

5 (4) the development of and coordination with 

6 watershed restoration programs in Haiti and Arme7 nia, including— 

8 (A) agreements with the Government of 

9 Haiti and the Government of Armenia, non10 governmental organizations, or private sector 

11 partners to provide technical assistance, capac12 ity building, or technology transfers which sup13 port the environmental recovery of Haiti’s and 

14 Armenia’s watersheds through forest restora15 tion activities, provided that the assistance will 

16 help strengthen economic drivers of sustainable 

17 resource inventory mapping and management, 

18 reduce environmental vulnerability, and improve 

19 governance, planning, and community action of 

20 watersheds in Haiti and Armenia; 

21 (B) actions to support economic incentives 

22 for sustainable resource management, including 

23 enhanced incentives for the replacement of an24 nual hillside cropping with perennial and non25 erosive production systems; 


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1 (C) enhanced extension services supporting 

2 the sustainable intensification of agriculture to 

3 increase farmer incomes and reduce pressure on 

4 degraded land; and 

5 (D) investments in watershed infrastruc6 ture to reduce environmental vulnerability, in7 cluding the establishment of appropriate erosion 

8 control measures through reforestation activi9 ties in targeted watersheds or sub-watersheds. 

10 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the President provides as12 sistance under subsection (a)(1), the President, in 

13 cooperation with the Government of Haiti and the 

14 Government of Armenia, shall develop appropriate 

15 performance metrics to measure, verify, and re16 port— 

17 (A) the conduct of each policy and initia18 tive to be carried out by the Government of 

19 Haiti and the Government of Armenia; 

20 (B) the results of each policy and initiative 

21 with respect to the forests of Haiti and Arme22 nia; and 

23 (C) impacts of reforestation policies and 

24 initiatives on the local communities of Haiti and 

25 Armenia. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Performance metrics de2 veloped under paragraph (1) shall, to the maximum 

3 extent practicable, include short-term and long-term 

4 metrics to evaluate the implementation of each pol5 icy and initiative contained in each proposal devel6 oped under subsection (a)(2). 

7 (d) REPORTS.— 

8 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 

9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the President shall submit to the appropriate com11 mittees of Congress a report that describes the ac12 tions that the President has taken, and plans to 

13 take— 

14 (A) to engage with the Government of 

15 Haiti and the Government of Armenia, non16 governmental stakeholders, civil society, and 

17 public and private nonprofit organizations to 

18 implement this section; and 

19 (B) to enter into agreements with the Gov20 ernment of Haiti and the Government of Arme21 nia under subsection (a)(1). 

22 (2) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 2 

23 years after the date on which the President first 

24 provides assistance to the Government of Haiti and 

25 the Government of Armenia under subsection (a)(1), 


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1 and biennially thereafter, the President shall submit 

2 to Congress a report that describes the progress of 

3 the Government of Haiti and the Government of Ar4 menia in implementing each policy and initiative 

5 contained in the proposal submitted under sub6 section (a)(2). 

7 (e) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The President is au8 thorized to provide financial and other assistance to the 

9 Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia, 

10 local government bodies, or nongovernmental organiza11 tions for the purpose of— 

12 (1) providing local communities information re13 lating to each policy and initiative to be carried out 

14 by the Government of Haiti and the Government of 

15 Armenia through funds made available under sub16 section (a)(1); 

17 (2) promoting effective participation by local 

18 communities in the design, implementation, and 

19 independent monitoring of each policy and initiative; 

20 and 

21 (3) promoting, consistent with supporting the 

22 sustainability of forestation activities, enhanced wa23 tershed governance, national planning, and commu24 nity action programs that lead to increased— 


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1 (A) development of a national watershed 

2 management policy for Haiti and Armenia with 

3 the appropriate government ministries and 

4 agencies; 

5 (B) establishment of an effective forum for 

6 donor coordination related to management and 

7 reforestation in Haiti and Armenia; 

8 (C) support for the National Center for 

9 Geospatial Information (CNIGS) and the 

10 United States Forest Service to provide tech11 nology, data, and monitoring support for im12 proved watershed and forest resource manage13 ment at a national scale in Haiti and Armenia; 

14 and 

15 (D) development of effective governance 

16 structures in Haiti and Armenia for stakeholder 

17 engagement, coordination of approaches, and 

18 land use planning and disaster mitigation at the 

19 watershed scale; and 

20 (4) meeting the goals of this Act, which, if find21 ings indicate are not appropriately and efficiently 

22 being met, may cause the President to terminate di23 rect funding to either the Government of Haiti or 

24 the Government of Armenia. 


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1 (f) MINIMUM COUNTRY REFORESTATION FUND PER2 CENTAGE.—Not less than 85 percent of amounts provided 

3 for programs under this section shall be spent on actual 

4 reforestation activities in Haiti and Armenia, which may 

5 include the protection of reforested areas. 

6 (g) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—The authority 

7 under this section shall terminate 7 years after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, unless the President certifies 

9 to the appropriate congressional committees that effective 

10 and sustainable programs are in place through the Gov11 ernment of Haiti or Government of Armenia or local gov12 ernments in Haiti or Armenia, in potential partnership 

13 with international donors, nongovernmental organizations, 

14 or civil society groups, to protect and manage areas refor15 ested pursuant to this Act, and that additional time is nec16 essary to further the overarching goals of the Act. Upon 

17 making such certification, the authority may be extended 

18 for a total of two additional 7-year terms. 

19 TITLE II—GRANTS FOR 

20 REFORESTATION 

21 SEC. 201. REFORESTATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President is authorized 

23 to establish a grant program to carry out the purposes 

24 of this Act, including reversing deforestation and improv25 ing reforestation and afforestation in Haiti and Armenia. 


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1 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized 

3 to award grants and contracts to carry out projects 

4 that, in the aggregate, reverse deforestation and im5 prove reforestation and afforestation. 

6 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (B), the President may not 

9 award a grant under this section in an amount 

10 greater than $500,000 per year. 

11 (B) EXCEPTION.—The President may 

12 award a grant under this section in an amount 

13 greater than $500,000 per year if the President 

14 determines that the recipient of the grant has 

15 demonstrated success with respect to a project 

16 that was the subject of a grant under this sec17 tion. 

18 (3) DURATION.—The President shall award 

19 grants under this section for a period not to exceed 

20 3 years. 

21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded pursuant to 

23 subsection (b) may be used for activities such as— 

24 (A) providing a financial incentive to pro25 tect forests; 


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1 (B) providing hands-on management and 

2 oversight of replanting efforts; 

3 (C) focusing on sustainable income-gener4 ating growth; 

5 (D) providing seed money to start coopera6 tive reforestation and afforestation efforts and 

7 providing subsequent conditional funding for 

8 such efforts contingent upon required tree care 

9 and maintenance activities; 

10 (E) promoting widespread use of improved 

11 cooking stove technologies, to the extent that 

12 this does not result in the harvesting of forest 

13 growth and other renewable fuel technologies 

14 that reduce deforestation and improve human 

15 health; and 

16 (F) securing the involvement and commit17 ment of local communities— 

18 (i) to protect forests in existence as of 

19 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

20 (ii) to partner in and carry out 

21 afforestation and reforestation activities. 

22 (2) LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION.—Ac23 tivities to secure the participation of local commu24 nities under paragraph (1)(F) should include one or 

25 more of the following activities: 


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1 (A) Creation of local jobs around pro2 tecting and managing reforested areas. 

3 (B) Collaboration to analyze biodiversity 

4 and ecosystem services integral to business deci5 sions. 

6 (C) Cooperative conservation programs 

7 such as working with local water sources to en8 sure clean water through improved forestland 

9 and watershed or with food suppliers to ensure 

10 sustainable agroforestry products. 

11 (3) CONSISTENCY WITH PROPOSALS.—To the 

12 maximum extent practicable, a project carried out 

13 using grant funds shall support and be consistent 

14 with the proposal developed under section 101(a)(2) 

15 that is the subject of the project. 

16 (d) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 

18 under this section, an entity shall prepare and sub19 mit an application at such time, in such manner, 

20 and containing such information as the President 

21 may reasonably require. 

22 (2) CONTENT.—Each application submitted 

23 under paragraph (1) should be consistent with the 

24 findings and recommendations of either the 2007 

25 United States Agency for International Development 


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1 report entitled, ‘‘Environmental Vulnerability in 

2 Haiti: Findings and Recommendations’’ for Haiti or 

3 the 2009 United States Agency for International 

4 Development report entitled ‘‘Biodiversity Analysis 

5 Update for Armenia Final Report: Prosperity, Live6 lihoods and Conserving Ecosystems (PLACE) IQC 

7 Task Order #4’’ for Armenia, and shall include— 

8 (A) a description of the objectives to be at9 tained; 

10 (B) a description of the manner in which 

11 the grant funds will be used; 

12 (C) a plan for evaluating the success of the 

13 project based on verifiable evidence; and 

14 (D) to the extent that the applicant in15 tends to use nonnative species in afforestation 

16 efforts, an explanation of the benefit of the use 

17 of nonnative species over native species and 

18 verification that the species to be used are not 

19 invasive. 

20 (3) PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—In 

21 awarding grants under this section, preference shall 

22 be given to applicants that propose— 

23 (A) to develop market-based solutions to 

24 the difficulty of reforestation in Haiti and Ar25 menia, including the use of conditional cash 


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1 transfers and similar financial incentives to pro2 tect reforestation efforts; 

3 (B) to partner with local communities and 

4 cooperatives; and 

5 (C) to focus on efforts that build local ca6 pacity to sustain growth after the completion of 

7 the underlying grant project. 

8 (e) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Presi9 dent shall collect and widely disseminate information 

10 about the effectiveness of the demonstration projects as11 sisted under this section. 

12 SEC. 202. FOREST PROTECTION PROGRAMS. 

13 Chapter 7 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

14 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2281 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

15 after section 466 the following new sections: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 467. PILOT PROGRAM FOR HAITI. 

17 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF AREAS OF SEVERELY

18 DEGRADED NATURAL RESOURCES.—The President, in co19 operation with nongovernmental conservation organiza20 tions, shall invite the Government of Haiti to submit a 

21 list of areas within the territory of Haiti in which forests 

22 are seriously degraded or threatened. 

23 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF LIST.—The President shall assess 

24 the lists submitted by the Government of Haiti under sub25 section (a) and shall seek to reach agreement with the 


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1 Government of Haiti for the restoration and future sus2 tainable use of those areas. 

3 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The President is 

5 authorized to make grants on such terms and condi6 tions as may be necessary to nongovernmental orga7 nizations for the purchase on the open market of 

8 discounted debt of the Government of Haiti, if a 

9 market is determined to be viable, in exchange for 

10 commitments by the Government of Haiti to restore 

11 forests identified by the Government under sub12 section (a) or for commitments to develop plans for 

13 sustainable use of such forests. 

14 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS.— 

15 Each recipient of a grant under this subsection shall 

16 participate in the ongoing management of the area 

17 or areas protected pursuant to such grant. 

18 ‘‘(3) MATCHING OF GRANT FUNDS.—Any 

19 United States funding provided to a nongovern20 mental organization for grant activities under this 

21 section shall be matched by an equal or greater 

22 amount of funding from the nongovernmental orga23 nization, which may include funding provided by 

24 other international donors, nongovernmental organi25 zations, philanthropic bodies, corporations or other 


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1 private entities, institutions of higher learning, or 

2 other non-United States Government sources. 

3 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM COUNTRY REFORESTATION

4 FUND PERCENTAGE.—Not less than 85 percent of 

5 grant funds provided under this section shall be 

6 spent on actual reforestation activities in Haiti, 

7 which may include the protection of reforested areas. 

8 ‘‘(5) RETENTION OF PROCEEDS.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of law, a grantee (or 

10 any subgrantee) of the grants referred to in section 

11 (a) may retain, without deposit in the Treasury of 

12 the United States and without further appropriation 

13 by Congress, interest earned on the proceeds of any 

14 resulting debt-for-nature exchange pending the dis15 bursements of such proceeds and interest for ap16 proved program purposes, which may include the es17 tablishment of an endowment, the income of which 

18 is used for such purposes. 

19 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—The author20 ity to make grants under the pilot program shall ter21 minate five years after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act. The authority may be renewed for one ad23 ditional five-year period during the 20-year reforest24 ation period targeted by this Act if the President de25 termines and certifies to Congress that the pilot proVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:04 Oct 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1548.IS S1548

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1 gram is effective in meeting the goals of the Act and 

2 the commitment of the Government of Haiti to re3 turning land in Haiti to long-term sustainable for4 ests. The cumulative duration of the pilot program 

5 may not exceed ten total years.’’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 468. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ARMENIA. 

7 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF AREAS OF SEVERELY

8 DEGRADED NATURAL RESOURCES.—The President, in co9 operation with nongovernmental conservation organiza10 tions, shall invite the Government of Armenia to submit 

11 a list of areas within the territory of Armenia in which 

12 forests are seriously degraded or threatened. 

13 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF LIST.—The President shall assess 

14 the lists submitted by the Government of Armenia under 

15 subsection (a) and shall seek to reach agreement with the 

16 Government of Armenia for the restoration and future 

17 sustainable use of those areas. 

18 ‘‘(c) DEBT FORGIVENESS AGREEMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEBT FORGIVENESS.—The President is 

20 authorized to forgive debt owed to the United States 

21 by the Government of Armenia in exchange for com22 mitments by the Government of Armenia to restore 

23 forests identified by the Government under sub24 section (a) or for commitments to develop plans for 

25 sustainable use of such forests. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS.— 

2 The Government of Armenia shall participate in the 

3 ongoing management of the area or areas protected 

4 pursuant to such debt relief. 

5 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM COUNTRY REFORESTATION

6 FUND PERCENTAGE.—Not less than 85 percent of 

7 funds that qualify under a debt relief agreement 

8 under this section shall be spent on actual reforest9 ation activities in Armenia, which may include the 

10 protection of reforested areas. 

11 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—The author12 ity to offer debt relief under the pilot program shall 

13 terminate five years after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. The authority may be renewed for 1 ad15 ditional 5-year period during the 20-year reforest16 ation period targeted by this Act if the President de17 termines and certifies to Congress that the pilot pro18 gram is effective in meeting the goals of the Act and 

19 the commitment of the Government of Armenia to 

20 returning land in Armenia to long-term sustainable 

21 forests. The cumulative duration of the pilot pro22 gram may not exceed ten total years.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—ADMINISTRATIVE 

2 PROVISION 

3 SEC. 301. DELEGATION. 

4 The President (or the Administrator of the United 

5 States Agency for International Development or the Sec6 retary of State as the President’s delegee) may draw, as 

7 appropriate, on the expertise of the United States Forest 

8 Service in designing and implementing programs pursuant 

9 to this Act relating to reforestation, watershed restoration, 

10 and monitoring of land use change. 

Æ 


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