US lawmakers are running out of time to act for nature in 2024

The US is now looking ahead to a new administration and Congress. But what won't change is the dire need to protect nature.

No matter who holds power in Washington, WWF's priorities remain steady: protect nature and reduce the most pressing threats to Earth's diversity of life. For more than 60 years, WWF has partnered with everyone we can—including administrations and members of Congress across both parties, state governments, businesses, and local communities—to advance pragmatic policies that help conserve our planet.

And now, we need to finish what we've already started as members of Congress return to Washington this week with a slate of unfinished business.

We've come so far in recent months to finance conservation at scale, stop nature crimes, promote smarter and more sustainable value chains, and advance nature as part of the US response to climate change. Time is running out to notch some real wins for nature and lay the groundwork for our path forward.

Finance conservation at scale

There has always been bipartisan agreement on the need for American leadership to protect nature around the world. As WWF's Living Planet Report shows an average 73% decline in wildlife populations, it's clear that we are facing a catastrophic decline in natural resources that also poses real threats to our health and security. The US should do everything it can to help reverse these trends.

There are three ways Congress can act now to mobilize US support for conservation:

• Send the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Reauthorization (WILD) Act to President Biden. This bipartisan bill would reauthorize critical US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) programs for five years, including the Multinational Species Conservation Funds that help protect elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes, and sea turtles in the wild. For example, this funding went toward a WWF-supported population survey of elephants in southern Africa that provided crucial information about where they live and their migration patterns. The House initially passed this bill by a unanimous vote in February, followed by the Senate passage of an amended version in September. The House needs to vote on it one last time so that these essential programs that fund the conservation of iconic global species can be renewed.

• Pass the Indian Buffalo Management Act. WWF proudly supports initiatives led by Native Nations to restore buffalo to US grasslands. This legislation would create a permanent program within the US Department of Interior to support tribal-led buffalo restoration efforts and strengthen government-to-government relationships with Tribes. The Indian Buffalo Management Act has advanced on a bipartisan basis through House and Senate committees this year. Congress should ensure its passage into law before the end of the year.
  
  
• Provide robust funding for nature conservation programs and unlock additional resources by passing the US Foundation for International Conservation Act. We urge Congress to continue to maintain or grow budgets for longstanding international conservation programs at federal agencies such as USAID and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the next bill to keep the government funded. Congress can also unlock additional resources to supplement the conservation efforts of these agencies and strengthen America's global influence by passing the US Foundation for International Conservation Act. This bipartisan bill, which has advanced at the committee level in both chambers of Congress, would leverage US government investments in global conservation to draw additional matching investments from private and philanthropic donors for nature protection worldwide. 
  
  

Stop nature crime and illegal trade of natural resources

The US is one of the world's largest markets for imported seafood. But under our current laws, we usually can't tell if the fish we eat was legally caught. Why does that matter? Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens species in ocean ecosystems, undermines regional stability, and is often linked to human rights and labor abuses.

This past June, the House passed an annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, with a provision from Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) that would allow the Department of Defense to work with other nations to build capacity for countering IUU fishing.

Congress is due to pass a final defense policy bill by the end of this year. Let's make sure that IUU fishing is recognized as the national security threat that it is.

Promote smarter, more sustainable value chains

• Help keep plastic out of nature by improving our recycling systems. Just a week after WWF activists urged members of Congress on our annual Lobby Day to enact policies to reduce plastic waste, the Senate passed two bipartisan bills to invest in America's recycling and composting systems. The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would enhance recycling data collection and establish a national composting strategy, while the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act would create a US Environmental Protection Agency pilot program for recycling projects in rural and underserved areas. It's crunch time for the House to pass these bipartisan, commonsense bills to help keep plastic pollution out of our communities.
  
  
• Renew the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill, which sets the nation's agriculture policies, is one of the biggest opportunities to reverse the nature loss driven by our food systems. Congress must act by the end of this year to renew the Farm Bill and seize the opportunity to support healthy people, a healthy planet, and a healthy farm economy. Lawmakers enacted a temporary extension last year and have repeatedly fallen short of agreeing on a long-term reauthorization. WWF urges Congress to make the necessary climate- and nature-smart agriculture investments in our communities to protect critical ecosystems and halt food loss and waste.
  

Advance nature as part of the response to climate change

Forest conservation is an essential part of curbing climate change that drives extreme heat and ever-more-potent natural disasters.

New York is leading the way for the US to promote responsible business practices and keep deforestation out of our supply chains. In May, the New York legislature passed the Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act, which would require any company supplying state agencies or contractors to certify that their products—including palm oil, soybeans, beef, coffee, cocoa, wood, pulp, and paper—do not contribute to the destruction of tropical forests.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has just over a month left to sign the TREES Act into law. Time is running out to act for healthy forests and sustainable businesses.

Let's get to work

These last few weeks of 2024 are our final chance to secure these solutions for people and nature that have already come so far. Now is the time for lawmakers to act decisively to protect our environment and set the stage for what comes next.

We need your help. Take action right now and urge lawmakers to:

Strengthen global conservation efforts
Advance plastic pollution policies
Renew the Farm Bill
Sign the TREES Act into law