§ 6706. Institutes of Tropical Forestry

The Secretary is authorized and directed to establish an Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico and an Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Institutes”). The Institutes shall conduct research on forest management and natural resources that shall include—

• (1) management and development of tropical forests;
• (2) the relationship between climate change and tropical forests;
• (3) threatened and endangered species;
• (4) recreation and tourism;
• (5) development of tropical forest resources on a sustained yield basis;
• (6) techniques to monitor the health and productivity of tropical forests;
• (7) tropical forest regeneration and restoration; and
• (8) the effects of tropical deforestation on biodiversity, global climate, wildlife, soils, and water.