Sec. 2. Findings; purpose

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Congress finds that— the established policy of the Federal Government is to support and seek protection of forests around the world that provide a wide range of benefits by— harboring a major portion of the biological and terrestrial resources of Earth and providing habitats for almost 2/3 of all species on Earth, including species essential to medical research and agricultural productivity; contributing to the livelihood of over 1,600,000,000 people through access to food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicines, and shelter; ensuring environmental functions such as biodiversity, water conservation, soil enrichment, water supply management, and climate regulation; and storing carbon, where deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming; while forests cover a little less than 1/3 of the land area on our planet, approximately 76 percent of the planet’s original primary forests have been destroyed or degraded; in 1923, over 60 percent of the land of Haiti was forested but, by 2006, that percentage had decreased to approximately less than 2 percent as a result of— an acceleration in the rate of deforestation in Haiti by more than 20 percent during the period beginning in 2000 and ending in 2005 compared to the period beginning in 1990 and ending in 1999; and a loss of nearly 10 percent (approximately 11,000 hectares) of the forest cover and approximately 22 percent of the total forest and woodland habitat of Haiti; while archeological data indicated that approximately 35 percent of Armenia was originally forested, less than 12 percent of Armenia’s territory was covered in forest in 1990, which has been reduced to approximately less than 7 percent by 2013 as a result of an energy crisis that crippled the nation in the 1990s and a loss of total of 24.5 percent (nearly 85,000 hectares) of forest cover during the period between 1990 and 2010; poverty and economic pressures are— two factors that underlie the deforestation of Haiti and Armenia; and manifested particularly through the clearing of vast areas of forest for conversion to agricultural uses where 2/5 of the population of Haiti depend on the agricultural sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming, and where wood and charcoal produced from cutting down trees accounts for a major supply toward Haiti’s and Armenia’s energy sectors; 80 percent of the population of Haiti lives below the poverty line and 36 percent of the population of Armenia lives below the poverty line; soil erosion represents a significant effect of the deforestation of Haiti and Armenia, as erosion has— lowered the productivity on the land due to poor soils underlying the forests; worsened the severity of droughts, landslides, and floods; led to further deforestation; significantly decreased the quality and, as a result, quantity of freshwater and clean drinking water available to populations; and increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees in Haiti and Armenia; forests provide cover to soften the effect of heavy rains and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil with their roots; research conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme has revealed a direct (89 percent) correlation between the extent of the deforestation of a country and the incidence of victims per weather event in the country; both Haiti and Armenia have faced natural disasters in recent years that have been at least partly exacerbated by the effects of deforestation, such as— flooding in Armenia that has cost nearly $33,000,000 in damages each year and swept away or damaged thousands of homes, schools, health clinics, and other institutions, partly because of damage to forests through illegal loggings, landslides, and soil erosion; hurricanes in Haiti that have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more, partly because deforestation had resulted in the clearing of large hillsides, which enabled rainwater to run off directly to settlements located at the bottom of slopes; and the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of Port au Prince and had greater consequences because of deforestation, which reduced hillside stability and increased the likelihood of mudslides, soil erosion, and flooding factors, which also negatively impacted the water supply and heightened concerns for the spread of waterborne diseases; economic benefits for local communities from sustainable uses of forests are critical for the long-term sustainable management of forests in Haiti and Armenia; on July 29, 2010, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 ( Public Law 111–212 ) was enacted into law, which included $25,000,000 for the reforestation and other restoration of Haiti’s key watersheds ; and reforestation efforts would provide new sources of jobs, income, and investments in both Haiti and Armenia by— providing employment opportunities in tree seedling programs, contract tree planting and management, sustainable agricultural initiatives, sustainable and managed timber harvesting, and wood products milling and finishing services; and enhancing community enterprises that generate income through the trading of sustainable forest resources, many of which exist on small scales.

The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance to the Government of Haiti and the Government of Armenia to develop and implement, or improve, nationally appropriate policies and actions— to reduce deforestation and forest degradation and improve forest management and natural regeneration; to increase annual rates of afforestation and reforestation in a sustainable, measurable, reportable, and verifiable manner— to restore social and economic conditions for environmental recovery of— 35 percent of Haiti’s and Armenia’s land surface areas within 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; and the forest cover of Haiti and Armenia to at least 7 percent in Haiti and at least 12 percent in Armenia (about each country’s respective levels in 1990) within 20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; and to improve sustainable resource management at the watershed scale.

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Pub. L. 111-212

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Sec. 2

Findings; purpose

Pub. L.Pub. L. 111-212

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