Sec. 101. Forestation assistance
1,449 words·~7 min read·
/bill/113/s/1548/is/section-101A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In accordance with section 118 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151p ) and consistent with the provisions of paragraph (2), the President is authorized to provide assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia in the form of financial assistance, technology transfers, or capacity building assistance for the conduct of activities to develop and implement one or more forestation proposals under paragraph (2)— to reduce the deforestation of Haiti and Armenia; and to increase the rates of afforestation and reforestation in Haiti and Armenia.
Assistance under this title may be provided to the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia to implement one or more proposals that contain— a description of each policy and initiative to be carried out using the assistance; adequate documentation to ensure, as determined by the President, that— each policy and initiative will be— carried out and managed in accordance with widely accepted environmentally sustainable forestry and agricultural practices; and designed and implemented in a manner by which to improve the governance of forests by building governmental capacity to be more transparent, inclusive, accountable, and coordinated in decisionmaking processes and the implementation of the policy or initiative; and the proposals will further establish and enforce legal regimes, standards, and safeguards designed to ensure that members of local communities in affected areas, as partners and primary stakeholders, will be engaged in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the policies and initiatives; and a description of how the proposal or proposals support and aid forest restoration efforts consistent with the purpose set forth in section 2(b).
In evaluating each proposal under subparagraph (A), the President shall ensure that each policy and initiative described in the proposal submitted by the Government of Haiti or the Government of Armenia under that subparagraph is compatible with— broader development, poverty alleviation, sustainable energy usage, and natural resource conservation objectives and initiatives in Haiti or Armenia; the development, poverty alleviation, disaster risk management, and climate resilience programs of the United States Agency for International Development, including those involving technical support from the United States Forest Service; and activities of international organizations and multilateral development banks.
Any assistance received by the Government of Haiti or the Government of Armenia under subsection (a)(1) shall be conditional upon development and implementation of a proposal under subsection (a)(2), which may include— the provision of technologies and associated support for activities to reduce deforestation or increase afforestation and reforestation rates, including— fire reduction initiatives; forest law enforcement initiatives; the development of timber tracking systems; the development of cooking fuel substitutes; initiatives to increase agricultural productivity; tree-planting initiatives; and programs that are designed to focus on market-based solutions, including programs that leverage the international carbon-offset market; the enhancement and expansion of governmental and nongovernmental institutional capacity to effectively design and implement a proposal developed under subsection (a)(2) through initiatives, including— the establishment of transparent, accountable, and inclusive decisionmaking processes relating to all stakeholders (including affected local communities); the promotion of enhanced coordination among ministries and agencies responsible for agro-ecological zoning, mapping, land planning and permitting, sustainable agriculture, forestry, mining, and law enforcement; and the clarification of land tenure and resource rights of affected communities, including local communities; the development and support of institutional capacity to measure, verify, and report the activities carried out by the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia to reduce deforestation and increase afforestation and reforestation rates through the use of appropriate methods, including— the use of best practices and technologies to monitor land use change in Haiti and Armenia, as well as changes in the extent of natural forest cover, protected areas, mangroves, agroforestry, and agriculture; the monitoring of the impacts of policies and initiatives on— affected communities; the biodiversity of the environment of Haiti and Armenia; and the health of the forests of Haiti and Armenia; and independent and participatory forest monitoring; and the development of and coordination with watershed restoration programs in Haiti and Armenia, including— agreements with the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia, nongovernmental organizations, or private sector partners to provide technical assistance, capacity building, or technology transfers which support the environmental recovery of Haiti’s and Armenia’s watersheds through forest restoration activities, provided that the assistance will help strengthen economic drivers of sustainable resource inventory mapping and management, reduce environmental vulnerability, and improve governance, planning, and community action of watersheds in Haiti and Armenia; actions to support economic incentives for sustainable resource management, including enhanced incentives for the replacement of annual hillside cropping with perennial and non-erosive production systems; enhanced extension services supporting the sustainable intensification of agriculture to increase farmer incomes and reduce pressure on degraded land; and investments in watershed infrastructure to reduce environmental vulnerability, including the establishment of appropriate erosion control measures through reforestation activities in targeted watersheds or sub-watersheds.
If the President provides assistance under subsection (a)(1), the President, in cooperation with the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia, shall develop appropriate performance metrics to measure, verify, and report— the conduct of each policy and initiative to be carried out by the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia; the results of each policy and initiative with respect to the forests of Haiti and Armenia; and impacts of reforestation policies and initiatives on the local communities of Haiti and Armenia.
Performance metrics developed under paragraph
(1)shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include short-term and long-term metrics to evaluate the implementation of each policy and initiative contained in each proposal developed under subsection (a)(2). Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the actions that the President has taken, and plans to take— to engage with the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia, nongovernmental stakeholders, civil society, and public and private nonprofit organizations to implement this section; and to enter into agreements with the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia under subsection (a)(1). Not later than 2 years after the date on which the President first provides assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia under subsection (a)(1), and biennially thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a report that describes the progress of the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia in implementing each policy and initiative contained in the proposal submitted under subsection (a)(2). The President is authorized to provide financial and other assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia, local government bodies, or nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of— providing local communities information relating to each policy and initiative to be carried out by the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia through funds made available under subsection (a)(1); promoting effective participation by local communities in the design, implementation, and independent monitoring of each policy and initiative; and promoting, consistent with supporting the sustainability of forestation activities, enhanced watershed governance, national planning, and community action programs that lead to increased— development of a national watershed management policy for Haiti and Armenia with the appropriate government ministries and agencies; establishment of an effective forum for donor coordination related to management and reforestation in Haiti and Armenia; support for the National Center for Geospatial Information (CNIGS) and the United States Forest Service to provide technology, data, and monitoring support for improved watershed and forest resource management at a national scale in Haiti and Armenia; and development of effective governance structures in Haiti and Armenia for stakeholder engagement, coordination of approaches, and land use planning and disaster mitigation at the watershed scale; and meeting the goals of this Act, which, if findings indicate are not appropriately and efficiently being met, may cause the President to terminate direct funding to either the Government of Haiti or the Government of Armenia. Not less than 85 percent of amounts provided for programs under this section shall be spent on actual reforestation activities in Haiti and Armenia, which may include the protection of reforested areas. The authority under this section shall terminate 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that effective and sustainable programs are in place through the Government of Haiti or Government of Armenia or local governments in Haiti or Armenia, in potential partnership with international donors, nongovernmental organizations, or civil society groups, to protect and manage areas reforested pursuant to this Act, and that additional time is necessary to further the overarching goals of the Act. Upon making such certification, the authority may be extended for a total of two additional 7-year terms.
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 101
Forestation assistance
Cites 1Cited by 0 across 0 sources