III 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 494 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 12, 2023 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. Whitehouse , Mr. Cardin , Mr. Welch , and Mr. Booker ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 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-driven activities are significantly damaging the ecosystems of the planet by— (1) altering 75 percent of the area of terrestrial environments and 66 percent of marine environments; (2) directly exploiting wildlife and plant species; (3) accelerating climate change, directly harming nature and exacerbating other threats; (4) polluting air, land, and water; and (5) introducing invasive species; Whereas recent scientific studies have shown that human-driven threats have harmed biodiversity by— (1) threatening approximately 1,000,000 species with imminent or near extinction, including— (A) more than 40 percent of amphibians; (B) 33 percent of corals, sharks, shark relatives, and marine mammals; (C) more than 60 percent of cycads and more than 30 percent of conifer trees; and (D) approximately 10 percent of the more than 5,000,000 insect species on the planet; and (2) causing population sizes of wild species to decline by— (A) an average of 68 percent for species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles; (B) approximately 3,000,000,000 birds in North America since 1970; (C) approximately 50 percent for species of live corals; and (D) an average of more than 20 percent overall; Whereas human activity is accelerating the decline of important economic and cultural services, including— (1) land productivity, with a reduction in the productivity of approximately 1/4 of the land surface; (2) land and freshwater resources, with more than 1/3 of the land surface and 75 percent of freshwater resources devoted to crop or livestock production; (3) global crops, with approximately $500,000,000,000 of global crops at risk due to pollinator loss; (4) marine fisheries, with 1/3 of marine fisheries overfished, 60 percent fished at capacity, and only 7 percent fished below capacity; and (5) environmental health, with 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 ecological knowledge critical to preserving biodiversity; Whereas the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services observed 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, including zoonotic disease buffering, pollination, water filtration, soil replenishment, the provision of game species, medicinal products, and recreational opportunities; Whereas communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal communities, and other populations that have been systematically and deliberately targeted for citing environmentally degrading activities and excluded from conservation efforts face disproportionate impacts from biodiversity loss; Whereas Federal agencies are tasked with protecting and conserving biodiversity in the United States and worldwide through a variety of legal and policy channels; Whereas there is no coordinating policy to maximize the effectiveness of the conservation efforts of the Federal Government and collaboration by the Federal Government with States, local governments, Indian Tribes, private landowners, and other nongovernmental 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— (A) the Convention on Biological Diversity, done at Rio de Janeiro June 5, 1992; (B) the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (commonly known as the Convention on Migratory Species ), done at Bonn November 6, 1979; or (C) other relevant international agreements; (2) does not issue a periodic 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 forward, including— (1) establishing the effective conservation, restoration, and durable protection of not less than 30 percent of an ecologically representative area of the lands, freshwaters, and oceans in the United States and in the world by 2030 by working collaboratively with governments, land owners, fishers, 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 ecosystems; (4) reducing pesticide use to levels not higher than necessary for ecologically sustainable and safe food production; and (5) addressing the threats posed by invasive species: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1) it is in the national interest for the Federal Government to establish a national biodiversity strategy to— (A) ensure the conservation and restoration of the biodiversity of the United States; (B) secure and restore the ecosystem services provided by nature for current and future generations; (C) deliver on the United Nations Sustainable 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 biodiversity of the United States; (F) coordinate the actions of Federal agencies to advance the conservation of biodiversity; (G) promote collaboration among Federal, State, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental stakeholders, civil society, and international parties to advance conservation; (H) honor the Federal trust obligations to Indian Tribes and Native Americans; and (I) provide global leadership in addressing the biodiversity crisis; and (2) the national biodiversity strategy described in paragraph (1) should include direction on— (A) achieving the national goal of conserving not less than 30 percent of the lands and waters of the United States to protect biodiversity and address climate change by 2030 (referred to in this resolution as 30x30 ), supporting international efforts to achieve the same goal on a global scale, and setting other goals necessary to reduce 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, including— (i) leading international agreements to combat climate change, including the decision of the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in Paris on December 12, 2015 (commonly known as the Paris Agreement ); (ii) establishing climate refugia and climate corridors for conservation of species affected by climate change; and (iii) the rapid build-out of renewable energy; (D) reviewing existing laws, plans, programs, and strategies that are relevant to addressing threats to biodiversity to assess how the laws, plans, programs, and strategies can contribute to the objectives of this resolution and, as necessary, recommending new laws, plans, programs, and strategies; (E) ensuring integration of biodiversity protection across the activities of the Federal Government, including foreign policy and foreign assistance; (F) advancing conservation in collaboration with State and Tribal governments and on private lands through incentives, funding, technical support, and partnerships; (G) incorporating indigenous knowledge and practices to support conservation and biodiversity, safeguarding the rights and needs of indigenous peoples, and ensuring fulfillment of the Federal trust obligations that apply to government decision making that impacts the interests of Native Americans; (H) ensuring equitable access to nature, inclusive decision making on biodiversity protection, and just allocations of resources to achieve the goals of this resolution, including with respect to systematically and deliberately targeted populations such as communities of color, low-income communities, and Native American communities; (I) establishing regular monitoring and reporting on the status of biodiversity in the United States and globally, including a quadrennial assessment reported to Congress and the people of the United States; (J) prioritizing programs to identify knowledge gaps and accelerate research and development of new conservation solutions across sectors; (K) assessing and integrating the role of the United States in international biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature conservation in— (i) national security and foreign policy strategies, including in international development policies, planning and finance, diplomatic dialogues, and trade agreements; and (ii) advancing global adoption of and progress toward 30x30; and (L) funding existing conservation programs, developing new funding sources, and reducing subsidies that harm biodiversity in amounts commensurate with the scale of the harm to biodiversity.