Biodiversity Loss and Its Causes Hearing Committee
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NATURE IN CRISIS: BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ITS CAUSES HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 4, 2019 Serial No. 116–24 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 36–504PDF WASHINGTON : 2020 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman ZOE LOFGREN, California FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma, DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois Ranking Member SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California, BILL POSEY, Florida Vice Chair RANDY WEBER, Texas CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania BRIAN BABIN, Texas LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas ANDY BIGGS, Arizona HALEY STEVENS, Michigan ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas KENDRA HORN, Oklahoma RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas BRAD SHERMAN, California TROY BALDERSON, Ohio STEVE COHEN, Tennessee PETE OLSON, Texas JERRY MCNERNEY, California ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida PAUL TONKO, New York JIM BAIRD, Indiana BILL FOSTER, Illinois JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington DON BEYER, Virginia JENNIFFER GONZA´ LEZ-COLO´ N, Puerto CHARLIE CRIST, Florida Rico SEAN CASTEN, Illinois VACANCY KATIE HILL, California BEN MCADAMS, Utah JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia (II) CONTENTS June 4, 2019 Page Hearing Charter ...................................................................................................... 2 Opening Statements Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chairwoman, Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives .... 7 Written statement ............................................................................................ 8 Statement by Representative Frank Lucas, Ranking Member, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives ..................... 9 Written statement ............................................................................................ 10 Witnesses: Sir Robert Watson, Past Chair, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 12 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 14 Dr. Kate Brauman, Coordinating Lead Author, IPBES Global Assessment; Lead Scientist, Global Water Assessment, University of Minnesota, Insti- tute of the Environment Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 32 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 34 Dr. James Porter, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, University of Georgia, and Scientific Advisor, Chasing Coral Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 42 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 44 Mr. Jeff Goodwin, Conservation Stewardship Lead and Agricultural Consult- ant, Nobel Research Institute Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 57 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 59 Dr. Steven Monfort, Director of the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conserva- tion Biology Institute Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 65 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 67 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 77 Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Dr. James Porter, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, University of Georgia, and Scientific Advisor, Chasing Coral ............................................ 110 Appendix II: Additional Material for the Record Statements submitted by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chair- woman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Rep- resentatives ........................................................................................................... 114 Statement submitted by Representative Lizzie Fletcher, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives ..................... 125 (III) IV Page Statement submitted by Representative Don Beyer, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives .................................... 128 NATURE IN CRISIS: BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ITS CAUSES TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY, Washington, D.C. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson [Chairwoman of the Committee] presiding. (1) 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chairwoman JOHNSON. This hearing will come to order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time. I want to say good morning, and welcome to today’s Full Com- mittee hearing, entitled, ‘‘Nature in Crisis: Biodiversity Loss and its Causes’’. I’d like to welcome our distinguished panel of wit- nesses, and thank all of you for joining us. Today we have the opportunity to discuss an issue that cap- tivated the attention of the public and policymakers alike, namely the alarming loss in biodiversity that is occurring worldwide. As a matter of fact, I read a paper in France last week on this very sub- ject. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or the IPBES, recently published a sum- mary for policymakers (SPM) for its first ever global assessment re- port. This intergovernmental body, which is not a part of the United Nations, set out to assess the state of biodiversity, its eco- systems, and the essential services they provide to society. The global assessment was prepared in advance of the upcoming UN Convention on Biological Diversity scheduled for 2020. I’d like to note that while we are primarily discussing the findings of the summary for policymakers today, the draft chapters of the full re- port were recently made publicly available. The final report chap- ters will be released later this year, and they will not differ from the findings in the summary for policymakers that we are dis- cussing this morning. The findings of IPBES laid out are too stark to ignore. The global assessment lays out the direct drivers of biodiversity loss in the fol- lowing order, from the greatest to least impact. Changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollu- tion, and invasive species. Though there are many underlying causes for these direct drivers of change, it is very clear that hu- mans have had an outsized impact on our surrounding environ- ment. We’ve already discussed the impacts that our change in cli- mate is having on our oceans at our Environmental Subcommittee hearing earlier this year, but climate change as a driver of bio- diversity loss also impacts non-marine ecosystems. I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses about the real-world impacts of all of the drivers of this biodiversity loss. Much of the reporting on the global assessment is focused on the devastating findings that almost one million species could poten- tially go extinct in the next few decades. But we would be remiss if we did not discuss what else the report lays out, especially its recommendations for potential solutions and pathways for address- ing biodiversity loss. I hope today’s conversation with our witnesses will provide an opportunity to further illuminate potential solutions we can utilize to address the dangers highlighted in the global as- sessment. Earlier this year, I introduced the Energy and Water Research Integration Act, with my friend and colleague Ranking Member Lucas, to address issues related to water conservation and use in the process of the Department of Energy’s research, development, and demonstration activities. Cross-cutting initiatives, like this bill, are clear examples of the role that Congress, and especially this Committee, can play in developing science-based solutions to our most pressing issues. 8 June is World Oceans Month, and this week in particular is Cap- itol Hill’s Oceans Week, or CHOW. I’m delighted that we have Dr. Porter from the University of Georgia joining us today to discuss the impacts of the drivers of biodiversity loss laid out in the IPBES report on coral reefs, and the numerous ecosystem services they provide. Later today the Committee will be screening Chasing Coral, a film for which Dr. Porter was a scientific expert. The screening is free and open to the public, and I encourage everyone to come back and watch it. After the screening, Dr. Porter will host a question and answer session with the audience. I want to let ev- eryone know that this Thursday, June 6, the Committee will be hosting an Ocean Exploration Expo to showcase ocean exploration technologies. I again encourage members of the public, and any of my colleagues, to join this Expo on Thursday. More important, more information is available on our website. I would also like to welcome back Sir Robert