International Environment Protection Act of 1983 (22 U.S.C 2151q.; 97 Stat. 1045) -- Section 702 of Title VII of the Department of State Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (P.L. 98-164) amended the natural resource provisions of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act by authorizing the President to assist other countries in wildlife and plant protection efforts in order to preserve biological diversity.
The law also mandates that the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID), in conjunction with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of EPA, and the Chairman of CEQ, develop a U.S. strategy to preserve biological diversity in developing countries.
Annual reports required by the State Department Authorization Act are also required to contain information related to efforts to conserve biological diversity, and the President was mandated to submit a report to the Speaker of the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding strategy to preserve biological diversity.
Section 703 authorized exchanges between the U.S. and other countries of scientists and other experts in the fields of environmental science and management.
Section 704 mandated that the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Interior review the effectiveness of existing U.S. international activities to conserve wildlife resources. Based on this review, the Secretaries were jointly required to submit a report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs including: (1) a description of the Federal wildlife conservation programs, (2) recommendations for actions to assist foreign nations and international organizations (based on projections contained in the Global 2000 Report), (3) myriad analyses of related data gathering and dissemination activities and the impact on wildlife in other nations resulting from actions authorized or funded by the U.S., (4) cost estimates to accompany recommendations, and (5) analyses of the desirability of delineating International Wildlife Resources Conservation Regions for which members of the Foreign Service would be responsible.
Section 302 of the Special Foreign Assistance Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-529) contained additional provisions related to biological diversity (22 U.S.C. 2151 q). The Administrator of AID was instructed to emphasize the need for biological diversity in information exchanges with foreign nations and training and education efforts. The Administrator was also authorized to enter into long-term agreements under which the host country would protect ecosystems or other wildlife habitats recommended by a U.S. Federal agency and to seek financial assistance for this effort.
The Administrator was mandated to support related efforts of other Federal agencies, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Finally, AID was directed to review its regulations to ensure that its ongoing or proposed actions do not "inadvertently endanger wildlife species or their critical habitats" or have other "adverse impacts on biological diversity." Direction was provided to deny both direct and indirect assistance which would "significantly degrade national parks or similarly protected areas or introduce exotic plants or animals in such areas."
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