The main purpose of Phase I of the Project in Asia was to identify issues and challenges pertaining to the understanding of biodiversity, its integration into IA and the nature of individual and institutional capacity gaps. Objectives mirrored those of the overall programme:
- Provide practical, demand-driven support for development of capacity, for integrating biodiversity and IA in the region for selected key sectors;
- Actively support the work of the biodiversity related global Conventions by providing case studies and experiences from the region;
- Work with practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders, to build expertise and promote good practice in the region for selected key sectors;
- Provide capacity building through knowledge transfer, institution building and networking across the region through an established network; and
- Promote and contribute to the further development of guidance for incorporating biodiversity related issues into IA with a particular focus on tools for economic valuation of biodiversity in EIA and SEA.
The work of the South and Southeast Asia section of the CBBIA-IAIA project resulted in the production of a guidance manual for biodiversity-inclusive EIA, currently available only in draft form. As soon as the guide is released in its full form, it will be made available through these pages. This draft document can be downloaded in its entirety (6.6 MB as a pdf file) or in sections. As it runs to some 213 pages in all, downloading section by section, as needed, might be preferable for those on lower bandwidth connections.
In future, it will also be possible to view the manual through these pages.
Information presented at conferences and training sessions through the life of the CBBIA project can be found through the outputs module.