IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 430 

Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least 50 percent of 

the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States and 

encouraging diplomatic community efforts to achieve this goal worldwide. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2023 

Mr. BEYER (for himself and Ms. STANSBURY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least 

50 percent of the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems 

in the United States and encouraging diplomatic community efforts to achieve this goal worldwide. 

Whereas the Earth is facing a crisis of biodiversity loss and 

species extinction; 

Whereas there has been an average 69-percent decrease in 

population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, 

and fish between 1970 and 2018; 

Whereas the recent global rate of species extinction is at least 

tens-to-hundreds of times higher than the average rate 


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over the past ten million years and has increased sharply 

since 1900; 

Whereas today more than one million plants and animal species are threatened with extinction; 

Whereas climate change increases the risks of species extinction and irreversible loss of biodiversity, presenting an existential crisis for humans and millions of other species 

around the world; 

Whereas human-driven changes in land and sea use are drivers of both biodiversity loss and climate change; 

Whereas ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, 

and mangroves can sequester large amounts of carbon, 

and protecting these areas and their wildlife populations 

can mitigate climate change by preventing carbon from 

being released into the atmosphere; 

Whereas conserving and restoring natural ecosystems provides greater net economic benefits than destroying natural spaces and wildlife for profit; 

Whereas industries that do not harm biodiversity, such as the 

outdoor recreation industry that supported 4.5 million 

jobs across the United States and accounted for $862 billion in gross output in 2021, enable individuals to have 

meaningful careers outside in nature; 

Whereas establishing protected natural areas can contribute 

many benefits to people, including by— 

(1) mitigating effects of climate change and 

buffering the impacts of extreme weather events; 

(2) providing cleaner drinking water; 

(3) reducing air pollution; 

(4) being a source of new medicines; 


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(5) reducing local rates of infectious diseases and 

broader risk of zoonotic spillover that can contribute to 

pandemics; and 

(6) supporting pollinators and other beneficial species for food production, globally valued at up to more 

than five hundred billion dollars; 

Whereas access to nature ensures cultural and spiritual enrichment, as well as physical and mental health benefits; 

Whereas all life depends on essential ecosystems, and, therefore, damaging or erasing them can have a profound impact on biodiversity and human health and well-being; 

Whereas inequitable policies have led to a targeted denuding 

of biodiversity in communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal communities, creating great harm 

and preventing these communities from having equal access to the benefits of biodiversity; 

Whereas the degradation and destruction of natural habitat 

is the primary cause of biological diversity loss at every 

level; 

Whereas only by the preservation and conservation of substantial, more natural, intact habitat than previously envisioned can human-driven extinctions be eliminated; 

Whereas the late American biologist E.O. Wilson estimated 

that protecting half of the Earth’s surface would ensure 

the sustainable persistence of 85 percent of the planet’s 

species, and with it, global biodiversity; 

Whereas the conservation science community has developed 

robust tools to inform the identification of natural habitats that provide the best opportunity to safeguard species; 


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Whereas area-based conservation goals are key to averting 

biodiversity loss and can be achieved through collaborative efforts, including— 

(1) public-private partnerships, which play a notable 

role in conservation within the United States and around 

the world; 

(2) stewardship of local communities on the ground 

and indigenous peoples, honoring their rights to lands, 

territories, and resources; and 

(3) international cooperation; and 

Whereas the America the Beautiful Initiative and its goal of 

conserving 30 percent of land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States by 2030 is a crucial first 

step to protecting biodiversity and mitigating the effects 

of climate change: Now, therefore, be it 

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

3 (1) the Earth is facing an imminent crisis from 

4 the extinction of species and the decline of biodiver5 sity; and 

6 (2) Congress should work to support protecting 

7 and conserving at least 50 percent of the land, 

8 freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United 

9 States and encourage diplomatic community efforts 

10 to achieve this goal worldwide, including early and 

11 often stakeholder consultation to ensure just impacts 

12 and transition. 

Æ 


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