•HRES 1247 IH 
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; 
(2) does not issue a national biodiversity outlook, 
contrary to most other nations; 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 protected areas networks encom-
passing at least 30 percent of the environment by 2030 
for biodiversity and climate; 
(2) restoring degraded habitats and ensuring 
connectivity of protected areas; 
(3) reducing pesticide use to levels no higher than 
needed for maintaining food production; and 
(4) addressing the threats posed by invasive species: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
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•HRES 1247 IH 
(1) it is in the national interest for the Federal 
Government to establish a National Biodiversity 
Strategy to— 
(A) ensure the conservation of the Nation’s 
biodiversity; 
(B) secure and restore the ecosystem serv-
ices provided by nature for current and future 
generations; 
(C) set ambitious yet necessary goals for 
protecting biodiversity in the coming decades; 
(D) promote social equity and justice in 
the conservation of the Nation’s biodiversity; 
(E) coordinate the actions of Federal agen-
cies to advance the conservation of biodiversity; 
(F) promote collaboration among the Fed-
eral, State, and Tribal governments and non- 
governmental stakeholders to advance conserva-
tion; 
(G) honor the Federal trust obligations to 
Tribal nations and Native Americans; and 
(H) provide global leadership in addressing 
the biodiversity crisis; and 
(2) the National Biodiversity Strategy should 
include direction on— 
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•HRES 1247 IH 
(A) setting a national goal of protecting at 
least 30 percent of United States lands and wa-
ters to conserve biodiversity and address cli-
mate change by 2030 and other goals necessary 
to reduce the threats to biodiversity as indi-
cated by the best available scientific informa-
tion; 
(B) affirming the need to protect threat-
ened, endangered, and at-risk species from fur-
ther imperilment or extinction; 
(C) climate adaptation and mitigation 
strategies for biodiversity conservation, includ-
ing— 
(i) joining and leading international 
agreements to combat climate change, such 
as the Paris Agreement; 
(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-
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•HRES 1247 IH 
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; 
(F) advancing conservation in collaboration 
with the State and Tribal governments and on 
private lands through funding, technical sup-
port, and partnerships; 
(G) incorporating indigenous knowledge 
and practices to support conservation and bio-
diversity, and ensuring fulfillment of the Fed-
eral trust obligations that apply to government 
decisionmaking that impacts the interests 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 the Nation’s biodiver-
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•HRES 1247 IH 
sity, including a quadrennial assessment re-
ported to Congress and the American people; 
(J) prioritizing programs to identify knowl-
edge gaps and accelerate research and develop-
ment of new conservation solutions across sec-
tors; and 
(K) 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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