Combatting Global Deforestation Act of 2024

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9867 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9867 To establish a verifiable international terrestrial ecosystem services conservation program and provide international technical assistance for the development of markets, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 27, 2024 Mr. Hoyer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish a verifiable international terrestrial ecosystem services conservation program and provide international technical assistance for the development of markets, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Combatting Global Deforestation Act of 2024''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Forests are a vital to the ecological health of the Earth, biodiversity, the protection of water and soil quality, the prevention of erosion and dangerous landslides, the production of oxygen, the regulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the regulation of the global system. (2) Forests are a critical natural resource that, when appropriately managed and conserved, provide significant economic, cultural, health, and community benefits to humanity. (3) Since the start of the 20th century, an estimated 3,900,000 square miles of forest have been lost due to human activities, including land conversions for agricultural production, cattle ranching, logging, land development, and extractive industrial activities such as mining and fossil fuel extraction. (4) Since 2000, 23 percent of global tree coverage loss has been the result of deforestation including-- (A) 48 per