IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1247 

Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish a National 

Biodiversity Strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and future 

generations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 2, 2020 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. HUFFMAN) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish 

a National Biodiversity Strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and future generations. 

Whereas the planet is facing an unprecedented biodiversity 

crisis, largely driven by human activity; 

Whereas recent scientific studies have confirmed human-driven activities are significantly damaging the Earth’s ecosystems by— 

(1) altering 75 percent of the area of terrestrial environments and 66 percent of marine environments; 

(2) directly exploiting wildlife and plant species; 

(3) accelerating climate change, directly harming nature and exacerbating other threats; 

(4) polluting air, land, and water; and 


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(5) introducing invasive species; 

Whereas these studies have shown that human-driven threats 

have harmed biodiversity by— 

(1) threatening approximately one million species 

with extinction now and in the coming decades, including— 

(A) over 40 percent of amphibians; 

(B) 33 percent of corals, sharks, shark relatives, and marine mammals; 

(C) over 60 percent of cycads and over 30 percent of conifer trees; and 

(D) about 10 percent of over 5 million insect 

species; and 

(2) causing population sizes of wild species to decline by— 

(A) an average of 68 percent for mammals, 

birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles; 

(B) nearly 3 billion birds in North America 

since 1970; 

(C) about 50 percent for live corals; and 

(D) an average of over 20 percent overall; 

Whereas human activity is accelerating the decline of important economic and cultural services, with— 

(1) the productivity of nearly one-fourth of the land 

surface reduced; 

(2) over one-third of land surface and 75 percent of 

freshwater resources devoted to crop or livestock production; 

(3) about half a trillion dollars of global crops at 

risk from pollinator loss; 


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(4) one-third of marine fisheries overfished, 60 percent fished at capacity, and just 7 percent fished below 

capacity; and 

(5) 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions caused 

by land clearing, crops, and fertilization; 

Whereas the decline of biodiversity disproportionately impacts 

indigenous and other communities that rely on nature for 

essential services, including Native Americans and Alaska 

Natives who offer unique perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge critical to preserving biodiversity; 

Whereas the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services observed worldwide is occurring in the United States; 

Whereas the United States possesses an abundance and great 

diversity of species of fish, wildlife, and plants that are 

of significant value to the United States for aesthetic, ecological, educational, cultural, recreational, economic, and 

scientific reasons; 

Whereas the decline of biodiversity presents a direct threat 

to the security, health, and well-being of the people of the 

United States by causing economic harm through the loss 

of valuable ecosystem services such as zoonotic disease 

buffering, pollination, water filtration, soil replenishment, 

the provision of game species, medicinal products, recreational opportunities, and others; 

Whereas communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal communities, and other populations that have been 

systematically and deliberately targeted for siting environmentally degrading activities, and excluded from conservation efforts, face disproportionate impacts from biodiversity loss; 


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Whereas Federal agencies are tasked with protecting and 

conserving biodiversity in the United States and worldwide through a variety of legal and policy channels; 

Whereas there is no coordinating policy to maximize the effectiveness of the Federal Government’s conservation efforts and collaboration with the States, local governments, Tribes, private landowners, and other nongovernmental stakeholders; 

Whereas the United States should play a leading role on the 

international stage in addressing the biodiversity crisis; 

yet the United States— 

(1) is not a party to the Convention on Biological 

Diversity; 

(2) does not issue a national biodiversity outlook, 

contrary to most other nations; and 

(3) does not have a National Biodiversity Strategy 

as part of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform 

on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; and 

Whereas scientific research highlights essential pathways forward, including— 

(1) establishing protected areas networks encompassing at least 30 percent of the environment by 2030 

for biodiversity and climate; 

(2) restoring degraded habitats and ensuring 

connectivity of protected areas; 

(3) reducing pesticide use to levels no higher than 

needed for maintaining food production; and 

(4) addressing the threats posed by invasive species: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 


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1 (1) it is in the national interest for the Federal 

2 Government to establish a National Biodiversity 

3 Strategy to— 

4 (A) ensure the conservation of the Nation’s 

5 biodiversity; 

6 (B) secure and restore the ecosystem serv7 ices provided by nature for current and future 

8 generations; 

9 (C) set ambitious yet necessary goals for 

10 protecting biodiversity in the coming decades; 

11 (D) promote social equity and justice in 

12 the conservation of the Nation’s biodiversity; 

13 (E) coordinate the actions of Federal agen14 cies to advance the conservation of biodiversity; 

15 (F) promote collaboration among the Fed16 eral, State, and Tribal governments and non17 governmental stakeholders to advance conserva18 tion; 

19 (G) honor the Federal trust obligations to 

20 Tribal nations and Native Americans; and 

21 (H) provide global leadership in addressing 

22 the biodiversity crisis; and 

23 (2) the National Biodiversity Strategy should 

24 include direction on— 


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1 (A) setting a national goal of protecting at 

2 least 30 percent of United States lands and wa3 ters to conserve biodiversity and address cli4 mate change by 2030 and other goals necessary 

5 to reduce the threats to biodiversity as indi6 cated by the best available scientific informa7 tion; 

8 (B) affirming the need to protect threat9 ened, endangered, and at-risk species from fur10 ther imperilment or extinction; 

11 (C) climate adaptation and mitigation 

12 strategies for biodiversity conservation, includ13 ing— 

14 (i) joining and leading international 

15 agreements to combat climate change, such 

16 as the Paris Agreement; 

17 (ii) establishing climate refugia and 

18 climate corridors for conservation of spe19 cies affected by climate change; and 

20 (iii) the rapid build-out of renewable 

21 energy; 

22 (D) reviewing existing laws, plans, pro23 grams, and strategies that are relevant to ad24 dressing threats to biodiversity to assess how 

25 they can contribute to the objectives of this resVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1247.IH HR1247

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1 olution and, as found necessary, to recommend 

2 new laws, plans, programs, and strategies; 

3 (E) ensuring integration of biodiversity 

4 protection across the activities of the Federal 

5 Government; 

6 (F) advancing conservation in collaboration 

7 with the State and Tribal governments and on 

8 private lands through funding, technical sup9 port, and partnerships; 

10 (G) incorporating indigenous knowledge 

11 and practices to support conservation and bio12 diversity, and ensuring fulfillment of the Fed13 eral trust obligations that apply to government 

14 decisionmaking that impacts the interests of 

15 Native Americans; 

16 (H) means to ensure equitable access to 

17 nature, inclusive decisionmaking on biodiversity 

18 protection, and just allocations of resources to 

19 achieve the goals of this resolution, including 

20 for systematically and deliberately targeted pop21 ulations such as communities of color, low-in22 come communities, and Native American com23 munities; 

24 (I) establishing regular monitoring and re25 porting on the status of the Nation’s biodiverVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1247.IH HR1247

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1 sity, including a quadrennial assessment re2 ported to Congress and the American people; 

3 (J) prioritizing programs to identify knowl4 edge gaps and accelerate research and develop5 ment of new conservation solutions across sec6 tors; and 

7 (K) funding existing conservation pro8 grams, developing new funding sources, and re9 ducing subsidies that harm biodiversity, in 

10 amounts commensurate with the scale of the 

11 challenge. 

Æ 


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