IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 346
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
APRIL24, 2025
Mr. B
EYERsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on For-
eign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction 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 73-percent decrease in
population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles,
and fish between 1970 and 2020;
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 346 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, including 41 percent
of all amphibians and 70 percent of all cycads, and since
the 16th century, at least 680 vertebrate species have
gone extinct;
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 foster connection to lands and
waters, such as the outdoor recreation industry that sup-
ported five million jobs across the United States and ac-
counted for $1.2 trillion in gross output in 2023, 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;
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(3) reducing air pollution;
(4) being a source of new medicines;
(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-
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tats that provide the best opportunity to safeguard spe-
cies;
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 former President Biden’s America the Beautiful Ini-
tiative and its goal of conserving 30 percent of land,
freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States by
2030 was a crucial first step to protecting biodiversity
and mitigating the effects of climate change: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-1
resentatives that— 2
(1) the Earth is facing an imminent crisis from 3
the extinction of species and the decline of biodiver-4
sity; and 5
(2) Congress should work to support protecting 6
and conserving at least 50 percent of the land, 7
freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United 8
States and encourage diplomatic community efforts 9
to achieve this goal worldwide, including early and 10
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•HRES 346 IH
often stakeholder consultation to ensure just impacts 1
and transition. 2
Æ
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