Number of Species (cumulative)

Source: See Part II, Table 87.

Although the United States participated actively in negotiations and hoped to be a signatory, the convention included several provisions, unrelated to the conservation sections of the treaty, that were unacceptable to the United States.

These provisions concerned intellectual property rights, access to genetic information used in biotechnology, and international funding for biodiversity activities. As a result, the United States declined to sign the treaty in its present

form. At the Rio meeting, however, President Bush stated that U.S. efforts to conserve domestic biodiversity will exceed the requirements of the treaty.

The United States conducts several programs for worldwide biodiversity research and conservation through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the international forestry programs of the USDA Forest Service. The Biodiversity Support Program, a joint venture by USAID, the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Resources Institute, provides expertise on biodiversity around the world. USAID/National Science Foundation collaborative program supports research and education in developing countries on potential threats to ecosystems and species.

Inventory and Research Proposal

A

At UNCED, the United States offered a proposal to foster international Gap analysis projects, by state.

scientific cooperation on biodiversity surveys, inventories, and data management, with the goal of increasing the availability, comparability, and quality of information on biological diversity. The United States plans to host a meeting in early 1993 of international experts to consider topics such as datagathering and reporting standards, approaches to conducting inventories and surveys, data management techniques, and institutional issues related to national biodiversity surveys.

Gap Analysis

Fish and Wildlife Service researchers use satellite imagery, habitat data, and geographic information systems to compare the distribution of species and plant/animal communities with existing land use and land management patterns. From this analysis, they can begin to assess current protection and identify areas in need of greater

protection. In 1992 federal, state, and private organizations worked on gap analysis projects in 22 states. Nationwide coverage is planned.

Endangered Species Protection

Biodiversity conservation includes efforts to preserve the diversity of species and the ecosystems on which they depend. Foremost among such U.S. efforts is the Endangered Species Act (ESA), whose initial stated purpose is "to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved." Despite this broad mandate, most implementation efforts focus on protecting individual species in danger of extinction (endangered) or likely to become so in the foreseeable future (threatened).

The federal agencies that implement ESA-Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for terrestrial and some aquatic species and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for marine species and anadromous fisheries-have begun to increase the use of regional and multispecies, habitat-based approaches. For example, FWS emphasizes additions to Threatened and endangered species recovery plans, in place.

threatened and endangered species lists that cover multiple species in a given region, so that conservation efforts can address their various needs more efficiently. FWS also supports multispecies recovery actions.

In a landmark decision to accelerate ESA implementation, FWS in December 1992 reached a legal settlement with environmental groups by agreeing to propose for listing within four years the 400 highest-ranked candidate species. In addition the service consented to expedite final consideration of 900 species that it believes may be worthy of protection but for which it does not have definitive scientific information. This settlement will create additional momentum for multi-species, habitatbased conservation approaches.

ESA allows the taking of listed species-defining "take" to include "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage"-if the activity is incidental to an otherwise legal activity and after approval of a habitat conservation plan demonstrating that the taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival or recovery. Such plans often cover a significant portion of the habitat for a species and thus have the potential to provide protection for a range of species and plant/animal communities. As of October 1992 FWS and NMFS had issued 20 incidentaltake permits and 17 permit amendments. FWS staff had provided pre-application technical assistance on 52 habitat conservation plans.

In 1991 the BLM director invoked a section of ESA that allows a cabinetlevel committee to authorize a project that would jeopardize a species. This group, known as the Endangered Species Committee, convened in late