Conservation is Development
The USAID Biodiversity Policy's vision is for biodiversity and its conservation to be seen as foundational components of human well being and thus sustainable development. While the bottom line is that functioning natural systems are critical to human survival, USAID and partners are exploring many critical intersections and entry points for integration.
The USAID Biodiversity and Development Handbook contains sections in Chapter Four that are a primer on integration of biodiversity into key development sectors. Like the other Chapters, these sections are built around USAID experience but also draw on many other sources. Additional resources on integration will be found on the Gateway under the "Conservation is Development" tab, where Integration Working Groups are generating resources and building constituencies in cross-sectoral teams.
The new FAA 118/119 Tropical Forest and Biodiversity Analysis Best Practices Guide provides practical "how-to" advice for USAID staff and contractors conducting the 118/119 analysis for US country strategies on action to achieve tropical forest and biodiversity conservation.
Video: Conservation is Development
This video was created to illustrate USAID's vision of conserving biodiversity for sustainable long-term development.
Integration Working Groups
The Forestry and Biodiversity Office created Integration Working Groups in support of the Biodiversity Policy's goal to integrate conservation as an essential component of international development. The Integration Working Groups have proven valuable not only to build the evidence base for integration but to grow the constituency for biodiversity conservation within the Agency. The groups thus work on identifying and commissioning research, finding opportunities for cross-sectoral programming and developing tools to support biodiversity integration. A new project, BRIDGE, has been put into place to facilitate this work.
The Integration Working Groups focus on key development sectors for USAID, draw on expertise from Measuring Impact, BRIDGE and other partners and collaborators such as the Center for International Forestry Research, the International Institute for Environment and Development, Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Nature Conservancy.
