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Activity

  1. Nature based solutions for climate change resilience.

Our consultant are recognised as world leaders in profitable tree based approaches to improving the resilience of coastal communities to the effects of climate change. They have acted as key advisors to the World bank and Asian Development Bank and have worked on both rural and urban systems e.g. Bangladesh. In the UK our focus has been on the use of trees and agroforestry to decontaminate agricultural land and to improve water quality in rivers.

  1. Innovation and success in major evaluations

We use innovative approaches such as appreciative inquiry to enhance the power of mixed method evaluation. We have made a major contribution to effective aid portfolio management eg EC ROM and have taken on many complex regional evaluations with political sensitivity. We have also completed many sectoral and programme level evaluations and have set up powerful monitoring evaluation and learning systems in our own projects. 

  1. Sustainable procurement (Global)

The global experience and contacts of BioDiversity International Ltd have been used in a number of sustainable procurement projects including a study for the Environment Agency on issues, opportunities and procedures for the procurement of timber for river and marine applications. We have also done scoping work for the Cider Industry and value chains involving nuts and spices.

  1. “Mainstreaming” environment and climate change in the work of charities and improving the impact of conservation agencies

Plan International is one of the world’s largest child sponsorship charities working in most countries in the developing world with an annual budget of over 270 million dollars. Biodiversity International Ltd was contracted to assess the efficacy of using an environmental sustainability principle and to identify how the organisation could use improved environmental awareness to improve the impact and sustainability of its operations. We have been involved in many reviews of WWF projects at regional and national levels and were also involved in the highly praised 2011 external review of IUCN. We have been involved in many evaluations and project development operations linked to the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

  1. Watershed and upland development linked to forest restoration (Laos PDR)

The company has been involved in innovative approaches to the reduction of poverty in bio-diverse and ethnically complex areas. The work has involved participatory biodiversity assessment and novel approaches in the valuation of forests and trees in watersheds. Simple techniques using remote sensing technology have helped in the delineation of biodiversity hot spots and defining a “spatial strategy” for poverty elimination.

  1. Organisational development linked to sustainable rural livelihood approaches (India)

We have successfully completed a major EC project helping to build the capacity of BAIF, a major established Indian NGO specialising in poverty alleviation. The 30 million euro EC project endeavoured to transfer technologies to 33000 poor families in selected districts in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The main aim of the technical assistance was to advise and train staff, so that they could assist communities to develop sustainable rural livelihoods through the formation of producer and other relevant groups. Key issues linked to governance were health, natural resources (livestock, sericulture, forestry, agroforestry, cropping systems, watersheds etc) and education.

  1. Forest friendly rural development (Vietnam)

We provided technical assistance as a sub contractor to Halcrow Rural Management Ltd. The World Bank funded project involved capacity building of MARD and commune based organisations in five provinces. The project’s focus was forest management and rural development in relation to key biodiversity reserves and protected areas. The work involved substantial buffer zone livelihood development, policy reform and Institutional strengthening.

  1. Tree and forest linked rural industry and development

Agroforestry is an innovative, systematic approach to land use, which recognises that trees and shrubs can play a central role in sustaining and enhancing the distinctive environment, economy and social fabric of Europe for the benefit of all. Agroforestry deals with a far greater range of economic species, products, potential users, and planting arrangements than current European forestry. An understanding of how trees or shrubs interact with their environment (crops, animals, soils etc) is a pre-requisite for the design of viable agroforestry systems. The company is centrally involved in the development of economically viable agroforestry systems. These include the use of multipurpose trees in bioenergy, animal production, orchard and arable settings. We have given policy advice to a number of agencies and have contributed to two many publications:

  1. TEEB

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a global initiative focused on “making nature’s values visible”. Its principal objective is to mainstream the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services into decision-making at all levels. It aims to achieve this goal by following a structured approach to valuation that helps decision-makers recognize the wide range of benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity, demonstrate their values in economic terms and, where appropriate, capture those values in decision-making. BioDiversity International Ltd consultants have played a major role in developing relevant approaches and carrying out major programme level evaluations.