IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1308 
Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Year of Biodiversity, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2010 
Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. PIERLUISI, 
and Mr. TANNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Year 
of Biodiversity, and for other purposes. 
Whereas ‘‘biodiversity’’ is the term commonly used by sci-
entists to describe the variety of plant and animal life on 
Earth, the places they inhabit, and the interactions be-
tween them; 
Whereas 1,750,000 species of plants and animals on Earth 
have been identified, and ecologists conservatively esti-
mate that 13,000,000 species may exist; 
Whereas the biodiversity of species, genes, and habitats helps 
increase the capability of Earth’s terrestrial and marine 
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•HRES 1308 IH 
ecosystems to be resilient in the face of a dynamic envi-
ronment; 
Whereas human well-being is inextricably linked with bio-
diversity, which provides essential ecological goods and 
services including clean water, clean air, food production, 
pest control, energy creation, pharmaceuticals and medic-
inal goods, recreation, and cultural identity; 
Whereas nearly a sixth of the world’s human population de-
pends on terrestrial or marine protected areas for a sig-
nificant percent of their livelihoods and 70 percent of the 
world’s poorest people live in rural areas dependent di-
rectly on biodiversity for their survival and well-being; 
Whereas over 1,000,000,000 people live in poverty in urban 
areas and depend on the ecosystem goods and services 
imported from areas of biodiversity; 
Whereas many small island nations and territories are de-
pendent on local biodiversity, which is particularly vulner-
able to ocean warming, ocean acidification, and sea level 
rise; 
Whereas genetic biodiversity is important for global food se-
curity through harvested wildlife, fish, and plants, crops, 
livestock, and aquaculture species that can adapt to 
change; 
Whereas scientists estimate that 60 percent of ecosystem 
services, which are supported by biodiversity, have been 
degraded globally in the last 50 years with a cost of 
$500,000,000,000 for lost ecological services on land in 
the last ten years alone; 
Whereas the greatest threats to biodiversity are habitat loss 
through land conversion and fragmentation, introduction 
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of invasive species, exploitation of natural resources, and 
pollution; 
Whereas the present rate of human-caused species extinction 
is estimated by paleontologists to be 1,000 times more 
rapid than the natural rate of extinction typical of 
Earth’s long-term geologic history, and the majority of 
recorded species extinctions over the last 500 years have 
occurred on islands; 
Whereas of the world’s original habitats we have lost 35 per-
cent of mangroves, 40 percent of forests, 50 percent of 
wetlands, and 20 percent of coral reefs globally due to 
human actions, with 70 percent of the remaining coral 
reefs threatened; 
Whereas the tropical South Pacific contains the highest pro-
portion of threatened species in the world with an esti-
mated 75 percent of total bird and mammal extinctions 
having occurred in that region; 
Whereas the United States has had a longstanding commit-
ment to the preservation and conservation of the Earth’s 
biodiversity, as demonstrated through the passage and 
implementation of numerous laws, including the Migra-
tory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.), the North American Wetlands Conserva-
tion Act (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.), various Acts providing 
for the conservation of particular species (16 U.S.C. 
4201 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 4261 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 5301 et 
seq., 16 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 6601 et 
seq.), the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), the Coral Reef Conservation 
Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), and other statutes; 
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•HRES 1308 IH 
Whereas the United States has demonstrated international 
leadership to protect and preserve biodiversity through its 
participation and leadership under a variety of global and 
regional conventions, treaties, and agreements that pro-
tect biodiversity, including the Convention on Inter-
national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora, the Convention on Wetlands of International 
Importance, the North American Waterfowl Management 
Plan, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, 
and other international treaties, conventions, and ac-
cords; and 
Whereas the United Nations has declared 2010 as the Inter-
national Year of Biodiversity as a celebration of life on 
Earth and of the value of biodiversity in our lives: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of the Inter-
national Year of Biodiversity, as it reinforces the 
United States’ interests in protecting and preserving 
threatened and endangered species under the En-
dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.); 
(2) acknowledges the importance of biodiversity 
to human well-being, the environment, and the eco-
systems and wildlife resources therein; 
(3) recognizes the persistent threats that under-
mine biodiversity, require the United States to re-
main diligent in its participation under numerous re-
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gional, national, and international conservation 
strategies, plans, and agreements, and encourages 
complementary actions on the State and local levels 
to address these threats through wildlife and wildlife 
habitat conservation strategies, plans, and agree-
ments; 
(4) reaffirms the United States commitment to 
the preservation of global biodiversity, especially 
through its leadership and participation under the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; and 
(5) applauds the work of governmental and 
nongovernmental conservation and environmental or-
ganizations working to promote public awareness 
concerning the need to preserve, conserve, and pro-
tect wildlife and wildlife habitats that comprise bio-
diversity. 
Æ 
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