To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to provide debt relief to developing countries that take action to protect tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such Act through fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 36 · Passed House amended · Oct 9, 2007
(Sec. 1) Amends the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to include tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems within the scope of such Act. (Current law refers to only tropical forests.)
(Sec. 3) Renames the Tropical Forest Facility as the Conservation Facility.
(Sec. 4) Makes developing countries with tropical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal marine ecosystems eligible for benefits. (Current law refers only to tropical forests.)
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(Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations through FY2010 for specified credit and concessional loan debt reduction owed to the United States.
Increases obligations for program administration, monitoring, and auditing.
(Sec. 7) Authorizes U.S. government representation on the administering body that oversees the implementation of grants from a debt-for-nature swap or debt buy-back regardless of whether the United States is a party to any agreement between the eligible purchaser and the government of the beneficiary country.
(Sec. 8) Requires U.S. government and beneficiary country government review of Conservation Fund grants in excess of $250,000.
(Sec. 8) Renames the Tropical Forest Agreement as the Conservation Agreement.
(Sec. 9) Renames the Tropical Forest Fund as the Conservation Fund.
(Sec. 10) Repeals Enterprise for the Americas Board authority to carry out activities under the Act.
(Sec. 11) Revises certain reporting dates.
(Sec. 12) Renames the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 as the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act of 2007.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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