Given the sharp decline of biodiversity across the globe, mainstreaming of biodiversity into policies and practices that rely on and have an impact on it, is key. Many of the drivers of biodiversity loss, however, fall outside the remit of traditional nature conservation policy. They are often rooted in related policy areas and sectors such as agriculture, forestry, infrastructure or tourism. Therefore, biodiversity objectives cannot be achieved in isolation but require integration across all sectors of society and the economy.
This report traces the evolution of biodiversity mainstreaming under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), from being a narrow concept advocating for environmental safeguards in just a few individual sectors to being a cornerstone of global biodiversity governance. It offers an overview of thematic entry points for mainstreaming biodiversity, such as in finance, policy planning cycles and monitoring frameworks, and discusses mainstreaming approaches in key sectors, i.e. land-use planning, forestry, infrastructure, and tourism sector. The report further gives an overview of the necessary coordination mechanisms such as inter-agency committees and vertical integration, as well as an overview of the remaining challenges for biodiversity mainstreaming. Case studies from Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand illustrate how biodiversity mainstreaming can be put into practice through national policy instruments and planning processes.
The report was developed by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the International Climate Initiative (IKI), supported by the German Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN).
