Portman, Bipartisan Senate Colleagues Applaud Committee Passage of Bill to Promote Conservation & Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), along with Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Richard Burr (R-NC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Brian Schatz (D-HI), applauded the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for passing the Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act (TFCA). This legislation reauthorizes a program that has saved more than 67 million acres of tropical forest by allowing developing countries that meet certain criteria to be relieved of debt owed to the United States in exchange for their conservation efforts. In addition, this legislation expands these efforts to coral reef eco-systems. To date, the TFCA program has sequestered 56 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of taking 11.8 million cars off the road. The bill now awaits action on the Senate floor.

"This bipartisan legislation takes significant strides to protect our natural resources for the next generation while strengthening ties with other countries," said Senator Portman, Co-Chair of the International Conservation Caucus. "This is a common sense and proven approach that has protected millions of acres of tropical forest from deforestation -- a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. I applaud the committee for approving the bill today and urge my colleagues to support this legislation when it comes to the Senate floor."

"The Tropical Forest Conservation Act represents the sensible and creative approach to policy-making that we need to take if we want to confront the increasingly grave threats to our planet and global stability," Senator Udall said. "As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I was proud to work for committee passage of this bipartisan legislation. This is simply smart policy: it helps preserve and protect precious eco-systems all while strengthening the United States' economic and security relationships around the world."

"The Tropical Forest Conservation Act is an incredibly successful conservation program that encourages foreign countries to invest in their national lands and wildlife by forgiving U.S. debt payments and diverting those funds to local conservation efforts," said Senator Burr. "These modest investments have leveraged millions in private sector investment or interest payments. These funds go to preserve the natural habitats, watersheds, and coral reefs across the world that can't be replaced once they're gone. I encourage my colleagues to support this important law that promotes American conservation efforts at home and abroad, and I hope to see it reauthorized as soon as possible."

"Harms like climate change and the plastic trash littering our oceans are serious threats to vital tropical ecosystems like coral reefs and rainforests. We ought to step up to protect them. That's why I'm proud to join this bipartisan effort to protect some of the most critically endangered and precious places in the world," said Senator Whitehouse.

"The reason why this bill has strong bipartisan support is because protecting tropical rainforests around the world is good for diplomacy and good for our planet," said Senator Schatz. "Whether you care about international affairs, climate change, bird-watching, eco-tourism, or the rainforest, this bill gets a lot of good things done."

"Conservation International commends the committee for passing the Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation that has demonstrated a transformative approach to conservation finance. The TFCA helps to protect and preserve tropical forests and now also protects coral reef ecosystems, enabling the protection of some of the world's most biologically diverse areas. This is good for our nation's economy and our security. We applaud Senators Portman and Udall for leading this effort. We also thank Senators, Burr, Whitehouse, and Schatz for their leadership and commitment to this important legislation," said Jennifer Morris, President of Conservation International.

"The Tropical Forest Conservation Act is a program with proven results, having protected millions of acres of forests while strengthening America's partnerships with developing nations," said Kerry Cesareo, Vice President for Forests at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "By reauthorizing and expanding it to include coral reef ecosystems, Senator Portman's legislation will build on these past successes to encourage our partners to continue to protect these irreplaceable natural treasures, including the "rainforests of the sea.' If passed into law, it will help drive economic prosperity both at home and abroad. It's a triple win for people, species, and nature."

"The Wildlife Conservation Society applauds the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for passing a bill to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA), ensuring the continuance of a highly successful and cost-effective mechanism to conserve some of the world's most biodiverse places," said John Calvelli, the Wildlife Conservation Society's Executive Vice President of Public Affairs. "By conducting the "debt-for-nature swaps" made possible by TFCA, U.S. economic and national security interests are served through the encouragement of good governance and stable democracy in the developing world while sustainably managing important ecosystems. I thank Sen. Portman and Sen. Udall, along with Sens. Burr, Whitehouse, and Schatz, for their leadership and commitment to saving wildlife and wild places by supporting the TFCA."

"Strengthening conservation abroad not only protects critical wildlife habitat but also boosts America's economy and enhances our national security," said Glenn Prickett, Chief External Affairs Officer for The Nature Conservancy. "The Tropical Forest Conservation Act leverages a key natural climate solution by protecting tropical forests that store carbon. And expanding the legislation to include other forests and coral reefs will benefit an even greater number of local communities and economies. We applaud Sen. Portman, as well as Sens. Udall, Burr, Whitehouse and Schatz, for championing this bill and these important international conservation efforts."

NOTE: Portman first introduced the TFCA in 1998 as a member of the House of Representatives. According to the Congressional Research Service, since 1998, 20 TFCA agreements have been completed with 14 countries, which has raised over $339 million for tropical forest conservation.