Declines in biodiversity weaken attempts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. But some approaches to reducing poverty are likely to increase the rate at which biodiversity is lost. Biodiversity considerations must be integrated into poverty alleviation strategies.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth. It includes genes, individual species and ecosystems. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment recently reported that biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate. Factors causing this loss include land use change, climate change, the spread of alien invasive species, the over-use of nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorous) and the over-exploitation of resources.

Global Biodiversity Outlook 2, a report by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, examines the links between poverty reduction and biodiversity. A loss of biodiversity – such as the loss of species or changes to habitats – can be bad for poor people, who often depend on these resources for food, a supply of fresh water and resources from which to make a living. However, actions to achieve poverty reduction, such as expanding agriculture and improving rural transport networks, are likely to accelerate the loss of biodiversity in the short term. For this reason, biodiversity considerations need integrating into poverty alleviation strategies.

The report also finds that:

• Reducing poverty is the priority for developing countries. Protecting biodiversity is often not well integrated into development plans, with little funding for this. This trend must change to reach the 2010 target for reducing biodiversity loss.
• Trade liberalisation, such as that associated with the Doha Development Round, may encourage land conversion and a loss of biodiversity in areas of low land and labour costs. Southern Africa and Latin America are high-risk areas in this respect.

It is important that efforts to reach one MDG do not undermine progress towards another. Biodiversity conservation must feature in trade and economic policy and planning (particularly in relation to energy and agriculture), and in poverty reduction strategies. This would help to ‘mainstream’ biodiversity within development thinking and planning. There are several elements to this:

• It is important to recognise the value of biodiversity, especially to poor people, including the goods and services not currently traded in existing markets.
• Environmental assessments should be made more sensitive to the concerns facing poor people.
• Agricultural strategies should concentrate on improving productivity and minimising post-harvest losses, rather than bringing more land into production. Soil conservation, integrated pest management and improved water and nutrient use can all help.
• Guidelines for good agricultural practice, certification and labelling schemes can encourage more sustainable farming practices.
• ‘Landscape-level’ planning, which involves managing large geographical areas, is necessary to protect areas of high biodiversity value, or areas that provide important ecosystem services for poor people.
• Well-managed networks of protected areas can help to protect biodiversity. Paying people to not convert biodiversity-rich areas can be effective.
• Policies can encourage greater responsibility by purchasers and processors of agricultural commodities. For example, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil agreed that there would be no conversion of primary forests to palm oil plantations after November 2005.

Source(s):
‘Global Biodiversity Outlook 2’, by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal: CBD, 2006 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Governments of the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; European Community

id21 Research Highlight: 4 October 2006

Further Information:
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
World Trade Centre
413 St Jacques-St, Suite 800
Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1N9
Canada

Tel: + 1 514 288 2220
Fax: + 1 514 288 6588
Contact the contributor: secretariat@biodiv.org

Convention on Biological Diversity

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id21 insights #57 - 'People and protected areas: new agendas for conservation'

'Balancing biodiversity and local development in the Amazon' >

'Depending on nature: ecosystem services supporting human livelihoods'

'Evolving environmental management: from conservation to poverty reduction'