§10602 — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must set up the United States Foundation for International Conservation as a charitable, nonprofit corporation within 180 days after December 23, 2024. The Foundation will not be a U.S. government agency. The Board must make sure the Foundation qualifies under subsection (c) of section 501 of title 26 and is tax-exempt under subsection (a) of that section. The Foundation must stop operating 10 years after it starts. The Board must send a plan to the appropriate congressional committees at least 180 days before that end date and follow the bylaws set under section 10603(b)(13). The Foundation’s work is to give grants and other support for managing protected and conserved areas in eligible countries with high biodiversity, promote long-term protection and buffer zones, attract and manage public and private funds, increase private investment and coordinate with other funders, and back projects that follow best environmental and social safeguards. It must also work with governments, private groups, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples to get measurable conservation results and help local security, governance, food supplies, and jobs. Within 6 months after it is created, the Executive Director must give the Board a 3-year Plan of Action that lists priority actions and timeline, how eligible countries and grants will be chosen and monitored, staffing and budget needs, and how the Foundation will boost private funding. After the Board approves the plan, the Executive Director must send it to the appropriate congressional committees within 5 days and then update and submit the plan each year within 5 days after Board approval.

Title 22, §10602

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2024, the Secretary shall establish the United States Foundation for International Conservation, which shall be operated as a charitable, nonprofit corporation.

(2)The Foundation is not an agency or instrumentality of the United States Government.

(3)The Board shall take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that the Foundation is an organization described in subsection (c) of section 501 of title 26, which exempt the organization from taxation under subsection (a) of such section.

(4)The Foundation shall terminate operations on the date that is 10 years after the date on which the Foundation becomes operational, in accordance with—

(A)a plan for winding down the activities of the Foundation that the Board shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 180 days before such termination date; and

(B)the bylaws established pursuant to section 10603(b)(13) of this title.

(b)The purposes of the Foundation are—

(1)to provide grants for the responsible management of designated priority primarily protected and conserved areas in eligible countries that have a high degree of biodiversity or species and ecosystems of significant ecological value;

(2)to promote responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas and their contiguous buffer zones;

(3)to incentivize, leverage, accept, and effectively administer governmental and nongovernmental funds, including donations from the private sector, to increase the availability and predictability of financing for responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas in eligible countries;

(4)to help close critical gaps in public international conservation efforts in eligible countries by—

(A)increasing private sector investment, including investments from philanthropic entities; and

(B)collaborating with partners providing bilateral and multilateral financing to support enhanced coordination, including public and private funders, partner governments, local protected areas authorities, and private and nongovernmental organization partners;

(5)to identify and financially support viable projects that—

(A)promote responsible, long-term management of primarily protected and conserved areas and their contiguous buffer zones in eligible countries, including support for the management of terrestrial, coastal, freshwater, and marine protected areas, parks, community conservancies, Indigenous reserves, conservation easements, and biological reserves; and

(B)provide effective area-based conservation measures, consistent with best practices and standards for environmental and social safeguards; and

(6)to coordinate with, consult, and otherwise support and assist, governments, private sector entities, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders in eligible countries in undertaking biodiversity conservation activities—

(A)to achieve measurable and enduring biodiversity conservation outcomes; and

(B)to improve local security, governance, food security, and economic opportunities.

(c)(1)Not later than 6 months after the establishment of the Foundation, the Executive Director shall submit for approval from the Board an initial 3-year Plan of Action to implement the purposes of this chapter, including—

(A)a description of the priority actions to be undertaken by the Foundation over the proceeding 3-year period, including a timeline for implementation of such priority actions;

(B)descriptions of the processes and criteria by which—

(i)eligible countries, in which eligible projects may be selected to receive assistance under this chapter, will be identified;

(ii)grant proposals for Foundation activities in eligible countries will be developed, evaluated, and selected; and

(iii)grant implementation will be monitored and evaluated;

(C)the projected staffing and budgetary requirements of the Foundation during the proceeding 3-year period; and

(D)a plan to maximize commitments from private sector entities to fund the Foundation.

(2)The Executive Director shall submit the initial Plan of Action to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 5 days after the Plan of Action is approved by the Board.

(3)The Executive Director shall annually update the Plan of Action and submit each such updated plan to the appropriate congressional committees not later that 5 days after the update plan is approved by the Board.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was in the original “this title” and was translated as reading “this subtitle”, meaning subtitle A (§§ 5101–5109) of title LI of div. E of Pub. L. 118–159, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2410, known as the United States Foundation for International Conservation Act of 2024, which is classified generally to this chapter.

§10602 United States Foundation for International Conservation

Summary

Title 22, §10602

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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