Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Haiti and Armenia Reforestation Act of 2018”.
Haiti and Armenia Reforestation Act of 2018
A BILL
To authorize the President to provide assistance to the Governments of Haiti and Armenia to reverse the effects of deforestation, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings; purpose
Findings— Congress finds that—
the established policy of the Federal Government is to support and seek the protection of forests around the world, which provide a wide range of benefits by—
harboring a major portion of the biological and terrestrial resources of Earth;
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 more than 1,600,000,000 people through access to food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicines, and shelter;
ensuring environmental services, such as biodiversity, water conservation, soil enrichment, water supply management, and climate regulation; and
absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, as deforestation accounts for approximately 12 percent of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming;
while forests cover a little less than 1⁄3 of the land area on Earth, approximately 85 percent of Earth’s original primary forests have been destroyed, degraded, or fragmented;
in Haiti—
the destruction of forests began centuries ago, when 17th century colonists cut down trees for lumber, fuel, and furniture;
the 18th century plantation economy resulted in hillsides near towns being stripped of trees;
after gaining independence, deforestation continued as Haiti rebuilt its local economy by growing coffee and exporting timber;
in 1923, more than 60 percent of the land was forested, but by the 1940s and 1950s deforestation was accelerating as an increasing population put more pressure on forests;
in recent years, urbanization has expanded exponentially and growing cities have depended on charcoal produced by cutting down trees in the countryside;
poor forestry and land use policies by the Government of Haiti has exacerbated deforestation, and by 2014, forest cover had decreased to approximately 9 to 11 percent of the country; and
between 2000 and 2016, 5,430 hectares of forest cover were lost, equal to 6.3 percent of Haiti’s tree cover;
in Armenia—
while archeological data indicated that approximately 35 percent of the country was originally forested—
less than 12 percent of the country was covered in forest in 1990; and
less than 6 percent of the country was covered in forest by 2016; and
in August, 2017, a fire caused significant damage to the Khosrov Forest, which is among the world’s oldest protected areas, engulfing more than 2,733 hectares in flames and causing substantial harm to hundreds of unique plant species;
economic pressures, resulting from more than 60 percent of the population of Haiti living below the poverty line and 29.8 percent of the population of Armenia living below the poverty line—
are factors contributing to the deforestation of Haiti and Armenia; and
are manifested particularly through the cutting of areas of forest for conversion to agricultural and commercial uses, where wood and charcoal produced from cutting down trees accounts for a major supply toward Haiti’s and Armenia’s energy sectors;
forests provide cover to soften the effect of heavy rains and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil with tree roots;
a significant effect of the deforestation in Haiti and Armenia is soil erosion, which has—
lowered the productivity on the land due to the leaching of nutrients in topsoils;
worsened the severity of droughts and the effects of landslides and floods;
led to further deforestation due to slash and burn practices when eroded areas are no longer productive;
increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees in Haiti and Armenia; and
significantly decreased water quality and the quantity of freshwater and clean drinking water available to populations;
research strongly suggests that deforestation increases the risk of infectious diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, SARS, Ebola, Hantavirus, and Zika—
by depriving insect and animal carriers of habitat; and
by directly increasing their rate of exposure to human populations who are susceptible to zoonotic pathogens;
both Haiti and Armenia have faced natural disasters in recent years, the effects of which have been exacerbated by deforestation, such as—
flooding in Armenia that has swept away or damaged thousands of homes, schools, health clinics, and other institutions, partly because of damage to forests through illegal logging, landslides, and soil erosion;
hurricanes in Haiti that have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more, partly because the clearing of large hillsides enabled rainwater to run off directly into settlements located at the bottom of slopes, causing severe flooding; and
the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which destroyed much of the infrastructure of Port-au-Prince, reduced hillside stability and increased the likelihood of mudslides, soil erosion, and flooding factors, which 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;
Congress appropriated funding for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2018 to support market-based reforestation programs in Haiti, which have resulted in successful agroforestry activities that have increased crop production, profits, and tree cover; and
reforestation efforts would provide new sources of jobs, income, and investments in 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.
Purpose— 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 the environmental recovery of the forest cover of Haiti and Armenia to at least 7 percent of total land mass in Haiti and 12 percent of total land mass in Armenia (as determined under section 302(a)) not later than 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
to improve sustainable resource management at the watershed level.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
Afforestation— The term afforestation—
means the establishment of a new forest through the planting of trees on a parcel of land not previously forested; and
includes—
the introduction of a tree species to a parcel of nonforested land in which the species is not a native species; and
the increase of tree cover through plantations.
Agroforestry—
In general— The term agroforestry means systems in which perennial trees or shrubs—
are integrated with crops or livestock; and
constitute a minimum 10 percent of ground cover.
Inclusion— Actual forest cover resulting from agroforestry programs may be counted toward the total forest cover goal set forth in section (2)(b)(3).
Appropriate committees of congress— The term appropriate committees of Congress means—
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Deforestation— The term deforestation means—
the conversion of forest to another land use; or
the long-term reduction of the tree canopy.
Forest— The term forest—
except as provided in subparagraph (B), means a terrestrial ecosystem containing native tree species generated and maintained primarily through natural ecological and evolutionary processes, which spans more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; and
does not include—
plantations, such as crops of trees planted primarily by humans for the purposes of harvesting; or
land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
Reforestation— The term reforestation—
means the establishment of forest on lands that were previously considered as forest, but which have been deforested; and
includes the increase of tree cover through plantations.