Elegant Terns Sterna elegansImage © Jeremy Barker
Effective Impact Assessment, whether at project level (Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA) or for proposed policies or plans (Strategic Environmental Assessment, SEA), can help to link biodiversity and ecosystem services with the broader socio-economic context for development: it is therefore seen as an important 'mainstreaming tool'.
CBBIA evolved following many years of effort by the Biodiversity and Ecology section of IAIA, to strengthen the global biodiversity-related conventions, notably the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
The rational for CBBIA was reinforced by the decision of CBD COP6 (April 2002) to further develop guidelines for incorporating biodiversity issues in IA with a main focus on EIA for proposed projects, and more recently on SEA for proposed policies, plans and programmes. CBBIA provided practical case studies and experiences to support the development of the 'voluntary guidance on biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment' endorsed by COP 8 at Curitiba, Brazil, in 2006. CBBIA also hosted consultation meetings to revise and develop the draft guidance in line with experiences and is now seeking opportunities to test the application of the guidance and adapt it at country level.
Since its inception, CBBIA has evolved a wider and more applied remit, aiming to provide practical and demand-driven support and to work with practitioners, decision-makers and other stakeholders to share information and experience, build expertise and promote good practice. Activities are carried out with strong local involvement to improve relevance and 'ownership': where possible being locally driven, with support from IAIA as necessary. Capacity building through CBBIA includes training/knowledge transfer, institution strengthening and provision of networking opportunities to promote good practice in biodiversity and IA. CBBIA has also provided guidance and information and has supported various enabling activities in participating regions and countries and at IAIA conferences, workshops and events.
The results of CBBIA so far strongly reinforce the need for advice on how to mainstream biodiversity as a significant issue in the assessment and planning of development. Further work through the project will respond to this and to growing recognition of the need for action to ensure that biodiversity is maintained as the basis for sustained delivery of ecosystem services, meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and alleviating poverty.
The MDGs (UN, 2000 ) are the guiding framework for development assistance and commit the international community to halving poverty by 2015. However, though environmental sustainability is recognized as essential to development (Goal 7), and biodiversity conservation efforts are acknowledged (EC/DFID/IUCN, 2001) for their role in meeting human needs, the reality is that biodiversity conservation and management are still marginalized in development planning.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the key international instrument for the integration of biodiversity into the MDGs agenda. It is therefore necessary to implement development in ways consistent with the CBD objectives, to integrate biodiversity concerns with development strategies and to communicate the importance of biodiversity for achieving the MDGs.
Achieving the MDGs depends considerably on the successful mainstreaming of biodiversity as an issue in planning and decision-making and on integrated efforts to address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, the priorities of the rural poor and their dependency on natural resources and biodiversity. The issues that threaten biodiversity are often the same as, or closely related to, some of the root causes of poverty: they include the marginalisation of rural communities, weak governance and political instability. On the other hand good stewardship of biodiversity can improve livelihoods and incomes, empower people, and contribute to better governance.
If development activities are undertaken without considering sustainability, they may potentially further degrade biological diversity and undermine the ability to achieve the MDGs. The goal is therefore to achieve development which meets the needs of people while appropriately valuing, conserving, and managing biodiversity. IA is an important tool for balancing these needs.
CBBIA provides opportunities to seek examples where biodiversity and development have been effectively integrated, to promote tools for better valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, to provide training, advocacy and leadership programmes to raise the profile of biodiversity as a development issue and to ensure that activities and outputs are locally relevant.