USAID is committed to a future in which both people and biodiversity thrive. The Agency’s Biodiversity Policy builds on a long history of conserving biodiversity and reflects the critical role of natural systems in achieving development goals. Established in 2014, the Biodiversity Policy has helped to create more strategic, focused, and results-oriented programming that applies scientific and evidence-based approaches. The Policy represents the Agency's commitment to supporting partner countries by conserving globally important biodiversity in priority places and learning from and working with other sectors to achieve better conservation and development outcomes.

The Biodiversity and Development Handbook is a foundational resource for implementation of the Biodiversity Policy. The handbook helps USAID managers and partners plan, design, implement, and monitor strong and sustainable conservation efforts in line with Agency experience, policy, and guidance. The handbook also draws from the USAID, partner, and global knowledge base of principles, approaches, resources, best practices, and case examples.

What We Do

To conserve globally important biodiversity, USAID works to protect and conserve terrestrial and marine ecosystems, invests in priority places to support people and nature, and combats conservation crime. USAID also collaborates and engages with other sectors to improve natural resource governance, promote health and equality of local communities, and apply technology and learning to enhance development practice.

 

Policy and Framework

USAID Biodiversity Policy

USAID’s Biodiversity Policy builds on a long history of conserving biodiversity and reflects the critical role of natural systems in achieving development goals. The Biodiversity Policy has helped to create more strategic, focused, and results-oriented programming that applies scientific and evidence-based approaches.

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Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework cover

Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework

Sound management of environmental and natural resources is integral to a country’s development, resilience, and self-reliance. The Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework serves as an Agency-wide guiding document to ensure USAID investments in all sectors bring environmental considerations to the forefront.

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Learn more about the Agency's work on these thematic pages

 

Wildlife

Healthy wildlife populations are intrinsically valuable and integral to global well-being and cultural heritage. According to a 2020 World Wildlife Fund report, more than 70 percent of wildlife has been lost in the past 50 years, with habitat loss and degradation accounting for almost half of this loss. USAID’s comprehensive approach to wildlife conservation and management includes efforts to combat illegal trade, reduce human–wildlife disease transmission, and foster wildlife-friendly enterprises.

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USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Nepal; National Trust for Nature Conservation). November 2017. Elephant. National Trust for Nature Conservation offices (NTNC) offices. Sauraha, Chitwan District, Nepal. Photograph by Jason Houston for USAID
 
Fisherman-Peru

Marine and Fisheries

Effective marine conservation maintains and enhances valuable ocean and coastal ecosystems and their natural capital, ensuring healthy fish and marine ecosystems for current and future populations. Each year, USAID invests more than $33 million in about 15 countries to promote sustainable fisheries and conserve marine biodiversity. The Agency’s work focuses on strengthening resource governance and management, combating illegal fishing, improving food security and resilience, and empowering women.

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Forestry

More than a billion people worldwide rely on forests for some portion of their livelihoods. The trade in illegal timber is estimated at $51–$152 billion annually, simultaneously threatening the world’s forests and taking resources from local communities that rely on forests for food, health, and income. Forests provide a wealth of benefits: They protect biodiversity and water resources, sequester carbon, provide important wildlife habitat, improve health and nutrition, provide timber and other non-timber forest products that contribute to livelihoods, and shelter communities from weather and climate extremes. By improving forest management and protection, USAID supports communities and their well-being.

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Credit: Winrock International
 

Cross-Sectoral Integration

Collaboration and engagement across sectors helps to achieve and sustain development and conservation outcomes. Biodiversity conservation is an essential component of human development and closely linked to ending extreme poverty, increasing food security, improving public health, and building resilience to crises. As part of the Biodiversity Policy, USAID prioritizes integrated programming approaches and building the evidence base for integration.

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Adaptive Management

Adaptive management is an intentional approach to making decisions and adjustments in response to new information and changes in context. Adaptive management at USAID occurs throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation of USAID activities and is part of a systematic and iterative use of knowledge and learning. We support the development of tools and approaches to strengthen adaptive management in biodiversity programming (such as the use of the Conservation Standards) to consistently test our assumptions and support a culture of intentional organizational learning for stronger biodiversity conservation results.

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