Biodiversity Mainstreaming

Aichi Biodiversity Target Two - Biodiversity Mainstreaming – focuses on the need to integrate the values and benefits of biodiversity into societal decision-making. It states: By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.

Although biodiversity and ecosystem services provide enormous societal values, these values and benefits are not widely reflected or accounted for in societal decision making, including in productive sectors, such as agriculture and energy, and in development sectors, such as land-use planning and poverty reduction. As a result, these and other sectors often have major negative impacts on biodiversity, underpinning the very foundation that sustains them. Furthermore, trends in biodiversity loss are often invisible in national accounts. To achieve Aichi Biodiversity Target Two, countries need to assess the values of biodiversity to a variety of sectors, and integrate biodiversity values fully into their national planning processes. Countries should consider developing natural capital accounting systems, and those that recognize social and cultural values.

Indicators of biodiversity mainstreaming may include status and trends in:

• Biodiversity value assessments for key development and economic sectors
• Incorporating natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services into national accounting systems
• Incorporating biodiversity into environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments

Main Resources

1. Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 Quick Guide
2. IIED and UNEP-WCMC NBSAPs 2.0 Mainstreaming Biodiversity and Development Project
3. IIED Environmental Mainstreaming
4. The Economics of Ecosystems of Biodiversity
5. Poverty Environment Initiative
6. World Bank WAVES Program CBD B-3. Mainstreaming biodiversity into sectoral and cross-sectoral strategies, plans and programmes (2011)
7. CBD Technical Series 28
8. Natural Capital Project
9. The Green Economy
10. UN System for Economic and Environmental Accounting
11. CBD Cross-cutting Theme: Biodiversity for Development
12. UNDP Mainstreaming Environment into Development
13. UNEP-WCMC and IEEP: Incorporating Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Values into NBSAPs: Guidance to Support NBSAP Practitioners
14. UNEP-WCMC and IEEP: Incorporating Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Values into NBSAPs: Roadmap to Support NBSAP Practitioners