October 23, 2012

Mainstreaming Biodiversity and Development

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, or NBSAPs, are national-level instruments for implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity. As part of the Convention, signatory countries are required develop a national strategy for biodiversity conservation applicable to all sectors that impact biodiversity. One of the topics discussed during the past two weeks of the 11th Conference of the Parties of the CBD was that of a revised, second generation of NBSAPs.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat and the UNDP Poverty and Environment Initiative are implementing the project NBSAPS 2.0: Mainstreaming Biodiversity and Development, funded by the UK Darwin Initiative and UKAid. As countries revise their NBSAPs over the next two years, the project will take this opportunity to provide guidance on how to integrate development and biodiversity.

On Tuesday October 9th, representatives from four of the project countries – Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, and Seychelles – presented on preliminary results and provided insight for the revision of NBSAPs at a CBD COP11 side event. Countries also had the opportunity to pilot the Biodiversity Mainstreaming Diagnostic Tool, unveiled at the side event. The tool offers a rapid assessment to  identify future opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming at national level, and can be used in the stakeholder engagement stages of the NBSAP revision process.

While not explicitly focused on agricultural land uses, NBSAPs and this effort to mainstream development issues, by default integrate agricultural considerations in many of the countries. For example, over 80% of Uganda’s population depends on subsistence agriculture and services from biodiversity for their livelihoods. In the NBSAP revision process, it will be essential to include biodiversity in sectoral planning and national policy relevant to agriculture, food security, and poverty alleviation.

Learn more about the project and check out the tool.

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