This report describes the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) biodiversity conservation and forestry programs for fiscal year (FY) 2008. It provides USAID's partners and the public with a summary of the Agency's approaches, activities, and results. Since the FY 2005 edition, USAID has reported on its biodiversity and forestry programs together because of the importance of forests to people, plants and wildlife. The two program areas are highly interrelated: much of USAID's forestry work includes a biodiversity conservation objective alongside economic growth goals, and USAID's biodiversity efforts are often focused on improved management and conservation of forest ecosystems.
The scale of biodiversity programs and the nature of forestry programs managed by USAID have both been affected by an increase in dedicated funding for biodiversity. USAID carefully assesses which programs meet the requirements of this Congressional biodiversity earmark using four key criteria: (1) the program must have an explicit biodiversity objective; (2) activities must be identified based on an analysis of threats to biodiversity; (3) the program must monitor associated indicators for biodiversity conservation; and (4) site-based programs must have the intent to positively impact biodiversity in biologically significant areas.
All four criteria must be met for programs to be eligible for dedicated biodiversity funds. These criteria guide program design and budgeting, leading to robust and often interdisciplinary programs which recognize biodiversity conservation as a prerequisite to achieving development goals. In the case of forestry, sustainable forest management provides local jobs in logging and wood processing, brings in tax revenue and foreign investment, and can help secure resource rights for rural and indigenous communities. Economic growth and clear land tenure in turn provide incentives for maintaining standing forests which can continue to provide ecological services and products such as climate change mitigation, freshwater, fuel wood and food. (Author abstract, modified)
