Congressional News:

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Friday, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) led 17 Members of Congress to urge President Biden to prioritize the United States’ ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity.

In a letter, the lawmakers point to the global extinction crisis, the unique role of Indigenous nations protecting biodiversity worldwide, and the need for U.S. leadership and partnership to halt and reverse global nature loss.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity is the international legal agreement that encourages signatory policy actions that will help create a sustainable future. The United States is the only UN member state that has not ratified the treaty, as wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% over the last 50 years and 30% of mammals worldwide are at risk of extinction.

“As we are all interconnected on this planet, these decisions will have an impact on the lives of every American, and we believe it is critical that we have a more active seat at the table,” the lawmakers said. 

“Becoming a formal party to the Convention on Biological Diversity will also further demonstrate the U.S. commitment to and partnerships with Indigenous nations across the world,” the lawmakers continued. “From Indigenous groups like the Yanomami Tribe in Brazil fighting to protect their homelands in the Amazon to Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico creating a first-of-its-kind program to reconnect wildlife corridors, Indigenous communities across the world are working to protect 80% of our global biological diversity.”

In the House of Representatives, this letter is cosigned by House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva, and by Reps. Grace Meng (N.Y.-06), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas-18), Nanette Barragán (Calif.-44), Summer Lee (Pa.-12), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.-03), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.-01), Jared Huffman (Calif.-02), Jill Tokuda (Hawaii-02), Ilhan Omar (Minn.-05), Chellie Pingree (Maine-01), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.-13), André Carson (Ind.-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del.-D.C.), Barbara Lee (Calif.-12), Katie Porter (Calif.-47), and Susan Wild (Pa.-07). 

The full text of this letter can be found here and below.

Dear President Joseph R. Biden:

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to protect and preserve biological diversity, address global climate change, and advance environmental justice across the United States. From your Administration’s historic investments in international biological diversity to the America the Beautiful Initiative, to Inflation Reduction Act investments in climate resilience and Justice 40 investments in underserved communities —it is clear that you are taking an inclusive and whole-of-government approach to the critical work of protecting our ecosystems and advancing environmental justice for generations to come.

We also want to thank you for appointing a Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources to serve as a liaison to the United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity. We applaud your Administration’s recognition of the fact that defending biodiversity is a global effort. As such, we believe it is imperative that the United States become a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. As you work to implement our nation’s commitment to fight climate change and protect our lands and waters and special places, we request that you also prioritize working to bring the United States in as a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the foremost international bodies working to protect nature around the world, and the United States remains the only United Nations member state that has not ratified the treaty. Biodiversity is deteriorating around the world at an unprecedented rate as one million plants and animals are at risk of extinction. Addressing these issues requires the collective effort of the global community to halt and reverse this deterioration. In addition, the United States’ absence from this Convention relegates one of the largest contributors in international conservation funding and biological diversity expertise to the sidelines for critical policy decisions. As we are all interconnected on this planet, these decisions will have an impact on the lives of every American, and we believe it is critical that we have a more active seat at the table. 

Becoming a formal party to the Convention on Biological Diversity will also further demonstrate the U.S. commitment to and partnerships with Indigenous nations across the world. From Indigenous groups like the Yanomami Tribe in Brazil fighting to protect their homelands in the Amazon to Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico creating a first-of-its-kind program to reconnect wildlife corridors, Indigenous communities across the world are working to protect 80% of our global biological diversity. The work conducted under the Convention on Biological Diversity has helped foster partnerships with Indigenous nations to advance conservation worldwide. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognizes the importance of honoring Indigenous sovereignty, knowledge, and special places and their inextricable relationship with protecting global biological diversity.

We strongly urge you to make it a mission of your Administration to work with the Senate to ratify the Treaty and formally become a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. We are inextricably interconnected on this planet, and the work of the Convention has a direct impact on all Americans. Thus, it is critical that the United States and our communities have a seat at the table in crafting initiatives to protect our planet’s biological diversity and advance environmental equity across the globe.