(1) CITES.—The term ‘‘CITES’’ means the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; 
TIAS 8249). 
(2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’ 
means the use of all methods and procedures nec-
essary to protect nesting habitats of marine turtles 
in foreign countries and of marine turtles in those 
habitats, including—
(A) protection, restoration, and manage-
ment of nesting habitats; 
(B) onsite research and monitoring of 
nesting populations, nesting habitats, annual 
reproduction, and species population trends; 
(C) assistance in the development, imple-
mentation, and improvement of national and re-
gional management plans for nesting habitat 
ranges; 
(D) enforcement and implementation of 
CITES and laws of foreign countries to—
(i) protect and manage nesting popu-
lations and nesting habitats; and 
(ii) prevent illegal trade of marine 
turtles;
(E) training of local law enforcement offi-
cials in the interdiction and prevention of—
(i) the illegal killing of marine turtles 
on nesting habitat; and 
(ii) illegal trade in marine turtles; 
(F) initiatives to resolve conflicts between 
humans and marine turtles over habitat used by 
marine turtles for nesting; 
(G) community outreach and education; 
and 
(H) strengthening of the ability of local 
communities to implement nesting population 
and nesting habitat conservation programs. 
(3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Ma-
rine Turtle Conservation Fund established by section 
5. 
(4) MARINE TURTLE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘marine tur-
tle’’ 
means 
any 
member 
of 
the 
family 
Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘marine tur-
tle’’ includes—
(i) any part, product, egg, or offspring 
of a turtle described in subparagraph (A); 
and
(ii) a carcass of such a turtle. 
(5) MULTINATIONAL
SPECIES
CONSERVATION 
FUND.—The term ‘‘Multinational Species Conserva-
tion Fund’’ means the fund established under the 
heading ‘‘multinational species conservation fund’’ in 
title I of the Department of the Interior and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 
4246). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
SEC. 4. MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 
funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, the 
Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to provide finan-
cial assistance for projects for the conservation of marine 
turtles for which project proposals are approved by the 
Secretary in accordance with this section. 
(b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—
(1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A proposal for a 
project for the conservation of marine turtles may be 
submitted to the Secretary by—
(A) any wildlife management authority of 
a foreign country that has within its boundaries 
marine turtle nesting habitat if the activities of
the authority directly or indirectly affect marine 
turtle conservation; or 
(B) any other person or group with the 
demonstrated expertise required for the con-
servation of marine turtles. 
(2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 
shall include—
(A) a statement of the purposes of the 
project; 
(B) the name of the individual with overall 
responsibility for the project; 
(C) a description of the qualifications of 
the individuals that will conduct the project; 
(D) a description of—
(i) methods for project implementa-
tion and outcome assessment; 
(ii) staff and community management 
for the project; and 
(iii) the logistics of the project; 
(E) an estimate of the funds and time re-
quired to complete the project; 
(F) evidence of support for the project by 
appropriate governmental entities of the coun-
tries in which the project will be conducted, if
the Secretary determines that such support is 
required for the success of the project; 
(G) information regarding the source and 
amount of matching funding available for the 
project; and 
(H) any other information that the Sec-
retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 
the eligibility of the project for funding under 
this Act. 
(c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
(A) not later than 30 days after receiving 
a project proposal, provide a copy of the pro-
posal to other Federal officials, as appropriate; 
and 
(B) review each project proposal in a time-
ly manner to determine whether the proposal 
meets the criteria specified in subsection (d). 
(2) 
CONSULTATION; 
APPROVAL
OR
DIS-
APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 
a project proposal, and subject to the availability of 
funds, the Secretary, after consulting with other 
Federal officials, as appropriate, shall—