I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 305
To establish a national policy for the conservation of biological diversity;
to support environmental research and training necessary for conserva-
tion and sustainable use of biotic natural resources, to establish mecha-
nisms for carrying out the national policy and for coordinating related
activities; and to facilitate the collection, synthesis, and dissemination
of information necessary for these purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. PORTER introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and Merchant Marine and
Fisheries
A BILL
To establish a national policy for the conservation of biologi-
cal diversity; to support environmental research and
training necessary for conservation and sustainable use
of biotic natural resources, to establish mechanisms for
carrying out the national policy and for coordinating
related activities; and to facilitate the collection, syn-
thesis, and dissemination of information necessary for
these 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 ‘‘National Biological
Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the Earth’s biological diversity is being re-
duced at a rate without precedent in human history;
(2) most losses of biological diversity caused by
human activity are unintended and largely avoidable;
(3) while the most rapid loss of biological diver-
sity is occurring outside the United States, it is also
a serious problem within this country;
(4) reduced biological diversity may have seri-
ous consequences for human welfare as resources for
research and agricultural, medicinal, and industrial
development are irretrievably lost;
(5) reduced biological diversity may also endan-
ger the functioning of ecosystems and critical eco-
system processes that moderate climate, govern nu-
trient cycles and soil conservation and production,
control pests and diseases, and degrade wastes and
pollutants;
(6) reduced biological diversity will diminish the
raw materials available for scientific and technical
advancement, including the development of improved
varieties of cultivated plants and domesticated ani-
mals;
(7) existing information regarding the abun-
dance and distribution of biological diversity is inad-
equate, often inaccessible, and frequently inapplica-
ble to conservation management, thus hampering the
efficiency of resource policy and management deci-
sions;
(8) existing conservation laws focus on the pro-
tection of individual species that have already suf-
fered declines, rather than emphasizing ecosystem
management to sustain diversity across a range of
species;
(9) existing laws and programs relevant to the
loss of biological diversity in the United States are
largely uncoordinated and inadequate, and some-
times result in duplication of efforts, conflicts in
goals, and gaps in geographic and taxonomic cov-
erage;
(10) a comprehensive and coordinated Federal
strategy is needed to arrest the loss of biological di-
versity and also, where possible, to restore biological
diversity both through natural recovery and active
management;
(11) increased biological and ecological research
is needed to provide the knowledge to maintain bio-
logical diversity, to protect and manage ecosystems,
and to ensure the sustainable use of natural re-
sources; and
(12) maintaining biological diversity through
habitat preservation is often less costly and more ef-
fective than efforts to save species once they become
endangered.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘biological diversity’’ means the
full range of variety and variability within and
among living organisms and the ecological complexes
in which they occur, and encompasses ecosystem or
community diversity, species diversity, and genetic
diversity;
(2) the terms ‘‘conserve’’, ‘‘conserving’’, and
‘‘conservation’’ refer to protective measures for
maintaining existing biological diversity and active
measures for restoring diversity through manage-
ment efforts, in order to protect, restore, and en-
hance as much of the variety of native species and
communities as possible in abundances and distribu-
tions that provide for their continued existence and
functioning, including, at a minimum, the viability of
existing populations;
(3) the term ‘‘ecosystem or community diver-
sity’’ means the distinctive assemblages of species
and ecological processes that occur in different phys-
ical settings of the biosphere and distinct parts of
the world;
(4) the term ‘‘genetic diversity’’ means the dif-
ferences in genetic composition within and among
populations of a given species;
(5) the term ‘‘regional ecosystem’’ means an
area which is sufficiently large that it is capable of
sustaining multiple biological communities and asso-
ciated species;
(6) the term ‘‘species diversity’’ means the rich-
ness and variety of native species in a particular lo-
cation of the world; and
(7) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, American Samoa, and any other common-
wealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
It is the purpose of this Act—
(1) to conserve biological diversity;
(2) to require explicit assessment of effects on
biological diversity in all environmental impact state-
ments required to be prepared pursuant to the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969;
(3) to establish a Federal strategy for the con-
servation of biological diversity;
(4) to establish mechanisms for encouraging
and coordinating Federal, State, and private efforts
to conserve biological diversity and natural environ-
ments;
(5) to undertake a nationally coordinated effort
to collect, synthesize, and disseminate adequate data
and information for—
(A) the understanding of biological diver-
sity;
(B) assessing the rate and scale of the de-
pletion of biological diversity; and
(C) identifying elements of biological diver-
sity that are in significant decline or otherwise
warrant special attention;
(6) to support basic and applied research nec-
essary for the conservation of biological diversity;
and