I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6503 
To authorize the President to provide assistance to the Governments of 
Haiti and Armenia to reverse the effects of deforestation, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2018 
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the President to provide assistance to the Gov-
ernments of Haiti and Armenia to reverse the effects 
of deforestation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haiti and Armenia 
Reforestation Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the established policy of the Federal Gov-
ernment is to support and seek the protection of for-
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ests around the world, which provide a wide range 
of benefits by— 
(A) harboring a major portion of the bio-
logical and terrestrial resources of Earth; 
(B) providing habitats for almost 2⁄3 of all 
species on Earth, including species essential to 
medical research and agricultural productivity; 
(C) contributing to the livelihood of more 
than 1,600,000,000 people through access to 
food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medi-
cines, and shelter; 
(D) ensuring environmental services, such 
as biodiversity, water conservation, soil enrich-
ment, water supply management, and climate 
regulation; and 
(E) absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, 
as deforestation accounts for approximately 12 
percent of the global anthropogenic greenhouse 
gas emissions that contribute to global warm-
ing; 
(2) while forests cover a little less than 1⁄3 of 
the land area on Earth, approximately 85 percent of 
Earth’s original primary forests have been de-
stroyed, degraded, or fragmented; 
(3) in Haiti— 
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(A) the destruction of forests began cen-
turies ago, when 17th century colonists cut 
down trees for lumber, fuel, and furniture; 
(B) the 18th century plantation economy 
resulted in hillsides near towns being stripped 
of trees; 
(C) after gaining independence, deforest-
ation continued as Haiti rebuilt its local econ-
omy by growing coffee and exporting timber; 
(D) in 1923, more than 60 percent of the 
land was forested, but by the 1940s and 1950s 
deforestation was accelerating as an increasing 
population put more pressure on forests; 
(E) in recent years, urbanization has ex-
panded exponentially and growing cities have 
depended on charcoal produced by cutting down 
trees in the countryside; 
(F) poor forestry and land use policies by 
the Government of Haiti has exacerbated defor-
estation, and by 2014, forest cover had de-
creased to approximately 9 to 11 percent of the 
country; and 
(G) between 2000 and 2016, 5,430 hec-
tares of forest cover were lost, equal to 6.3 per-
cent of Haiti’s tree cover; 
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(4) in Armenia— 
(A) while archeological data indicated that 
approximately 35 percent of the country was 
originally forested— 
(i) less than 12 percent of the country 
was covered in forest in 1990; and 
(ii) less than 6 percent of the country 
was covered in forest by 2016; and 
(B) in August, 2017, a fire caused signifi-
cant damage to the Khosrov Forest, which is 
among the world’s oldest protected areas, en-
gulfing more than 2,733 hectares in flames and 
causing substantial harm to hundreds of unique 
plant species; 
(5) economic pressures, resulting from more 
than 60 percent of the population of Haiti living 
below the poverty line and 29.8 percent of the popu-
lation of Armenia living below the poverty line— 
(A) are factors contributing to the defor-
estation of Haiti and Armenia; and 
(B) are manifested particularly through 
the cutting of areas of forest for conversion to 
agricultural and commercial uses, where wood 
and charcoal produced from cutting down trees 
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