IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 69 
Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish a national 
biodiversity strategy for protecting biodiversity for current and future 
generations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2021 
Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. HUFFMAN) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the need for the Federal Government to establish 
a national biodiversity strategy for protecting biodiversity 
for current and future generations. 
Whereas the planet is facing an unprecedented biodiversity 
crisis, largely driven by human activity; 
Whereas recent scientific studies have confirmed human-driv-
en activities are significantly damaging the Earth’s eco-
systems by— 
(1) altering 75 percent of the area of terrestrial en-
vironments and 66 percent of marine environments; 
(2) directly exploiting wildlife and plant species; 
(3) accelerating climate change, directly harming na-
ture and exacerbating other threats; 
(4) polluting air, land, and water; and 
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(5) introducing invasive species; 
Whereas these studies have shown that human-driven threats 
have harmed biodiversity by— 
(1) threatening approximately one million species 
with extinction now and in the coming decades, includ-
ing— 
(A) over 40 percent of amphibians; 
(B) 33 percent of corals, sharks, shark rel-
atives, and marine mammals; 
(C) over 60 percent of cycads and over 30 per-
cent of conifer trees; and 
(D) about 10 percent of over 5 million insect 
species; and 
(2) causing population sizes of wild species to de-
cline by— 
(A) an average of 68 percent for mammals, 
birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles; 
(B) nearly 3 billion birds in North America 
since 1970; 
(C) about 50 percent for live corals; and 
(D) an average of over 20 percent overall; 
Whereas human activity is accelerating the decline of impor-
tant economic and cultural services, with— 
(1) the productivity of nearly one-fourth of the land 
surface reduced; 
(2) over one-third of land surface and 75 percent of 
freshwater resources devoted to crop or livestock produc-
tion; 
(3) about half a trillion dollars of global crops at 
risk from pollinator loss; 
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(4) one-third of marine fisheries overfished, 60 per-
cent fished at capacity, and just 7 percent fished below 
capacity; and 
(5) 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions caused 
by land clearing, crops, and fertilization; 
Whereas the decline of biodiversity disproportionately impacts 
indigenous and other communities that rely on nature for 
essential services, including Native Americans and Alaska 
Natives who offer unique perspectives and traditional eco-
logical knowledge critical to preserving biodiversity; 
Whereas the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services ob-
served worldwide is occurring in the United States; 
Whereas the United States possesses an abundance and great 
diversity of species of fish, wildlife, and plants that are 
of significant value to the United States for intrinsic, 
aesthetic, ecological, educational, cultural, recreational, 
economic, and scientific reasons; 
Whereas the decline of biodiversity presents a direct threat 
to the security, health, and well-being of the people of the 
United States by causing economic harm through the loss 
of valuable ecosystem services such as zoonotic disease 
buffering, pollination, water filtration, soil replenishment, 
the provision of game species, medicinal products, rec-
reational opportunities, and others; 
Whereas communities of color, low-income communities, Trib-
al communities, and other populations that have been 
systematically and deliberately targeted for siting envi-
ronmentally degrading activities, and excluded from con-
servation efforts, face disproportionate impacts from bio-
diversity loss; 
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Whereas Federal agencies are tasked with protecting and 
conserving biodiversity in the United States and world-
wide through a variety of legal and policy channels; 
Whereas there is no coordinating policy to maximize the ef-
fectiveness of the Federal Government’s conservation ef-
forts and collaboration with the States, local govern-
ments, Tribes, private landowners, and other nongovern-
mental stakeholders; 
Whereas the United States should play a leading role on the 
international stage in addressing the biodiversity crisis, 
yet the United States— 
(1) is not a party to the Convention on Biological 
Diversity, the Convention on Migratory Species, and 
other relevant international agreements; 
(2) does not issue a national biodiversity outlook, 
contrary to most other countries; and 
(3) does not have a national biodiversity strategy as 
part of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on 
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; and 
Whereas scientific research highlights essential pathways for-
ward, including— 
(1) establishing the effective conservation, restora-
tion, and durable protection of at least 30 percent of an 
ecologically representative area of the Nation’s and the 
world’s lands, freshwaters, and oceans by 2030 by work-
ing collaboratively with governments, land owners, fish-
ers, indigenous peoples, communities, and others; 
(2) restoring or rewilding species, degraded habitats, 
and ensuring integrity and connectivity of protected 
areas; 
(3) retaining and protecting highly intact eco-
systems; 
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(4) reducing pesticide use to levels no higher than 
needed for sustainable, ecologically, and safe food produc-
tion; and 
(5) addressing the threats posed by invasive species: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) it is in the national interest for the Federal 
Government to establish a national biodiversity 
strategy to— 
(A) ensure the conservation and restora-
tion of the Nation’s biodiversity; 
(B) secure and restore the ecosystem serv-
ices provided by nature for current and future 
generations; 
(C) deliver on the United Nations Sustain-
able Development Goals; 
(D) set ambitious yet necessary goals for 
protecting biodiversity in the coming decades; 
(E) promote social equity and justice in 
the conservation of the Nation’s biodiversity; 
(F) coordinate the actions of Federal agen-
cies to advance the conservation of biodiversity; 
(G) promote collaboration among the Fed-
eral, State, and Tribal governments, nongovern-
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mental stakeholders, civil society, and inter-
national cooperation to advance conservation; 
(H) honor the Federal trust obligations to 
Tribal nations and Native Americans; and 
(I) provide global leadership in addressing 
the biodiversity crisis; and 
(2) the national biodiversity strategy should in-
clude direction on— 
(A) setting a national goal of conserving at 
least 30 percent of United States lands and 
waters to protect biodiversity and address cli-
mate change by 2030, supporting international 
efforts to achieve the same goal on a global 
scale, and setting other goals necessary to re-
duce the threats to biodiversity as indicated by 
the best available scientific information; 
(B) taking action to protect threatened, 
endangered, and at-risk species from further 
imperilment or extinction; 
(C) climate adaptation and mitigation 
strategies for biodiversity conservation, includ-
ing— 
(i) joining and leading international 
agreements to combat climate change, in-
cluding the Paris Agreement; 
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(ii) establishing climate refugia and 
climate corridors for conservation of spe-
cies affected by climate change; and 
(iii) the rapid build-out of renewable 
energy; 
(D) reviewing existing laws, plans, pro-
grams, and strategies that are relevant to ad-
dressing threats to biodiversity to assess how 
they can contribute to the objectives of this res-
olution and, as found necessary, to recommend 
new laws, plans, programs, and strategies; 
(E) ensuring integration of biodiversity 
protection across the activities of the Federal 
Government, including foreign policy and for-
eign assistance; 
(F) advancing conservation in collaboration 
with the State and Tribal governments and on 
private lands through incentives, funding, tech-
nical support, and partnerships; 
(G) incorporating indigenous knowledge 
and practices to support conservation and bio-
diversity, safeguarding the rights and needs of 
indigenous peoples, and ensuring fulfillment of 
the Federal trust obligations that apply to gov-
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ernment decisionmaking that impacts the inter-
ests of Native Americans; 
(H) means to ensure equitable access to 
nature, inclusive decisionmaking on biodiversity 
protection, and just allocations of resources to 
achieve the goals of this resolution, including 
for systematically and deliberately targeted pop-
ulations such as communities of color, low-in-
come communities, and Native American com-
munities; 
(I) establishing regular monitoring and re-
porting on the status of biodiversity, in the Na-
tion and globally, including a quadrennial as-
sessment reported to Congress and the Amer-
ican people; 
(J) prioritizing programs to identify knowl-
edge gaps and accelerate research and develop-
ment of new conservation solutions across sec-
tors; 
(K) assessing and integrating the United 
States role in international biodiversity, eco-
system services, and nature conservation in na-
tional security and foreign policy strategies, in-
cluding in international development policies, 
planning and finance, diplomatic dialogues, and 
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trade agreements, and advancing global adop-
tion of and progress towards the ‘‘30x30’’ goal; 
and 
(L) funding existing conservation pro-
grams, developing new funding sources, and re-
ducing subsidies that harm biodiversity, in 
amounts commensurate with the scale of the 
challenge. 
Æ 
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