Whither biodiversity in development? The integration of biodiversity in international and national poverty reduction policy

Abstract

The link between biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation has been the subject of heated debate for the last decade. One thread of this multi-faceted issue has been concerned with a perceived lack of attention to biodiversity conservation within the international development agenda following the prioritization of poverty reduction—particularly, the emphasis on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and on national poverty reduction strategies. In this paper I explore whether biodiversity has indeed “fallen off” the development agenda, as critics claim, by reviewing the policies of official development assistance agencies and national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).