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 resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently 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 commu-
nity 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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•HRES 430 IH 
over the past ten million years and has increased sharply 
since 1900; 
Whereas today more than one million plants and animal spe-
cies are threatened with extinction; 
Whereas climate change increases the risks of species extinc-
tion and irreversible loss of biodiversity, presenting an ex-
istential crisis for humans and millions of other species 
around the world; 
Whereas human-driven changes in land and sea use are driv-
ers 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 pro-
vides greater net economic benefits than destroying nat-
ural 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 bil-
lion 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 spe-
cies for food production, globally valued at up to more 
than five hundred billion dollars; 
Whereas access to nature ensures cultural and spiritual en-
richment, as well as physical and mental health benefits; 
Whereas all life depends on essential ecosystems, and, there-
fore, damaging or erasing them can have a profound im-
pact 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 com-
munities, and Tribal communities, creating great harm 
and preventing these communities from having equal ac-
cess 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 sub-
stantial, more natural, intact habitat than previously en-
visioned 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 habi-
tats that provide the best opportunity to safeguard spe-
cies; 
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Whereas area-based conservation goals are key to averting 
biodiversity loss and can be achieved through collabo-
rative 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 eco-
systems 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 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the Earth is facing an imminent crisis from 
the extinction of species and the decline of biodiver-
sity; and 
(2) Congress should work to support protecting 
and conserving at least 50 percent of the land, 
freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United 
States and encourage diplomatic community efforts 
to achieve this goal worldwide, including early and 
often stakeholder consultation to ensure just impacts 
and transition. 
Æ 
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