Biodiversity Conservation Tools

Is Our Project Succeeding: A Guide to Threat Reduction Assessment for Conservation — by Richard Margoluis — last modified 2007-06-29 22:24

b Measuring Project Success 2 Like any other project, conservation projects are designed to change something, to have an impact on some state or condition. The main goal of this change is to protect biodiversity. One of the major differences we see between conservation projects and other projects, however, is that it is often difficult to define—in clear, operational terms—precisely what it is that conservation projects are trying to achieve. In a business setting, the project goal is usually financial profit and it is usually pretty easy to evaluate how much money a company is making or losing. For a health project, it is relatively easy to measure the health status of a particular population and to track changes over time to measure the success of a given intervention. But for conservation projects, what practical and meaningful measures of project impact are available to us? ...

Working with Community-Based Conservation with a Gender Focus — by Mary Hill Rojas — last modified 2008-05-30 13:30

This is a 1999 Guide to "Working with Community-Based Conservation with a Gender Focus" by Mary Hill Rojas (DAI) and distributed by the USAID Office of Women in Development (WID). The WIDTECH Project, funded by the Office of Women in Development (G/WID) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provides technical assistance and training on gender issues to USAID bureaus and missions. In spring 1998, at the request of Eric Fajer of USAID’s Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Bureau, the author, a WIDTECH environment specialist, served as a member of the Parks in Peril (PIP) Project evaluation team. The rest of the team consisted of Laurence Hausman, team leader, institutional relationships and strengthening; Allen Putney, management of protected areas; and Lorenzo Rosenzweig, conservation finance. The team reviewed the progress under the Parks in Peril Project, a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy and USAID. As part of the evaluation, the team visited seven protected areas in Mexico (La Encrucijada, El Ocote, and Sian Ka’an), Ecuador (Machalilla), Peru (Bahuaja Sonene), Costa Rica (Talamanca), and Guatemala (Sierra de Las Minas). This guide uses examples from the site visits and builds on the results of the evaluation to suggest ways that PIP project personnel can easily, efficiently, and equitably integrate gender in their work. The Guide is organized and presented a seven 'step' as follow: (Step ONE) develop a rationale for paying attention to gender; (Step TWO) deonstruct terms to understand gener roles and relations; (Step THREE) highting women as well as men as PIP participants; (Step FOUR) build on women's individual and group experiences; (Step FIVE) remove barriers to participation; and (Step SIX) work across sectors. A project funded by the Office of Women in Development, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research, U.S. Agency for International Development under contract number FAO-0100-C-00-6005-00 with Development Alternatives, Inc. July 1999

USAID Biodiversity Guide for Staff & Parnters — by USAID — last modified 2007-07-02 11:43

The goal of this Guide is to provide USAID staff and partners with basic information about designing, managing, and implementing biodiversity conservation programs or activities. What do you need to know, as a USAID manager, to design, implement, manage, and evaluate a biodiversity conservation program or activity? What are the critical elements of success for biodiversity programs and activities? How can activities be designed that will simultaneously meet USAID administrative and legal requirements while ensuring that development goals are addressed using best conservation practice and approaches? The Guide is intended for a broad audience including USAID mission and Washington staff, implementing partners, and multiple stakeholders within and across sectors.

Tool - BSP Analysis of Adaptive Management — by webadmin — last modified 2006-02-22 19:48

This publication "Adaptive Management: A Tool for Conservation Practitioners" by Nick Salafsky, Richard Margoluis, and Kent Redford, is an overview of the process, principles, and conditions for achieving adaptive management at the project level. It lists various reports and tools generated under the Biodiversity Support Program's (BSP) Analysis and Adaptive Management Program (provides links to the associated chapters).

Beyond Fences Seeking Social Sustainability in Conservation — by Borrini-Feyerabend, G. gbf@cenesta.org (ed.), — last modified 2007-02-17 18:42

Beyond Fences is designed to help professionals involved in conservation initiatives to identify the social concerns that are relevant for their work, assess options for action and implement them. Volume 1 is a companion to a process of planning, evaluating or re-designing a conservation initiative; an experience of 'learning by doing' expected to involve a series of meetings and field-based activities. Volume 2 is a reference book to be consulted, as needed, at various stages in the same process.

PUTTING CONSERVATION IN CONTEXT (cd) — by Rose Hessmiller — last modified 2008-03-31 16:07

Community Conservation Coalition