§ 10602. United States Foundation for International Conservation

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(a)Establishment

(1)In general Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2024, the Secretary shall establish the United States Foundation for International Conservation, which shall be operated as a charitable, nonprofit corporation.

(2)Independence The Foundation is not an agency or instrumentality of the United States Government.

(3)Tax-exempt status The Board shall take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that the Foundation is an organization described in subsection

(c)of section 501 of title 26, which exempt the organization from taxation under subsection

(a)of such section.

(4)Termination of operations The Foundation shall terminate operations on the date that is 10 years after the date on which the Foundation becomes operational, in accordance with—

(A)a plan for winding down the activities of the Foundation that the Board shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 180 days before such termination date; and

(B)the bylaws established pursuant to section 10603(b)(13) of this title.

(b)Purposes The purposes of the Foundation are—

(1)to provide grants for the responsible management of designated priority primarily protected and conserved areas in eligible countries that have a high degree of biodiversity or species and ecosystems of significant ecological value;

(2)to promote responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas and their contiguous buffer zones;

(3)to incentivize, leverage, accept, and effectively administer governmental and nongovernmental funds, including donations from the private sector, to increase the availability and predictability of financing for responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas in eligible countries;

(4)to help close critical gaps in public international conservation efforts in eligible countries by—

(A)increasing private sector investment, including investments from philanthropic entities; and

(B)collaborating with partners providing bilateral and multilateral financing to support enhanced coordination, including public and private funders, partner governments, local protected areas authorities, and private and nongovernmental organization partners;

(5)to identify and financially support viable projects that—

(A)promote responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas and their contiguous buffer zones in eligible countries, including support for the management of terrestrial, coastal, freshwater, and marine protected areas, parks, community conservancies, Indigenous reserves, conservation easements, and biological reserves; and

(B)provide effective area-based conservation measures, consistent with best practices and standards for environmental and social safeguards; and

(6)to coordinate with, consult, and otherwise support and assist, governments, private sector entities, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders in eligible countries in undertaking biodiversity conservation activities—

(A)to achieve measurable and enduring biodiversity conservation outcomes; and

(B)to improve local security, governance, food security, and economic opportunities.

(c)Plan of Action

(1)In general Not later than 6 months after the establishment of the Foundation, the Executive Director shall submit for approval from the Board an initial 3-year Plan of Action to implement the purposes of this chapter, including—

(A)a description of the priority actions to be undertaken by the Foundation over the proceeding 3-year period, including a timeline for implementation of such priority actions;

(B)descriptions of the processes and criteria by which—

(i)eligible countries, in which eligible projects may be selected to receive assistance under this chapter, will be identified;

(ii)grant proposals for Foundation activities in eligible countries will be developed, evaluated, and selected; and

(iii)grant implementation will be monitored and evaluated;

(C)the projected staffing and budgetary requirements of the Foundation during the proceeding 3-year period; and

(D)a plan to maximize commitments from private sector entities to fund the Foundation.

(2)Submission The Executive Director shall submit the initial Plan of Action to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 5 days after the Plan of Action is approved by the Board.

(3)Updates The Executive Director shall annually update the Plan of Action and submit each such updated plan to the appropriate congressional committees not later that 5 days after the update plan is approved by the Board.

(Pub. L. 118–159, div. E, title LI, § 5102, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2410.)

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