Mainstreaming biodiversity into economic sectors: Fiji launches BIODEV project
Through multi-stakeholder dialogue, mainstreaming biodiversity commitments into Fiji’s economic sectors will soon be taken into account with the support of the new BIODEV 2030 Fiji project. Launched in Suva, Fiji on 31 March, the event gathered stakeholders from government line ministries, private sector, civil society organisations, conservation NGOs and business organisations.
Photo: IUCNHelen Pippard
“The health of the ecosystems we so depend on is being threatened and being degraded at an alarmingly unprecedented rate. The only way we can match that is through unprecedented action. An action with urgency and cooperation”, Mr Joshua Wycliffe stressed.
“Mainstreaming also means cross-sectoral. When we implement things cross-sectorally, it multiplies the speed at which we intervene”, he continued.
Biodiversity conservation is a precondition for achieving sustainable development and needs to be mainstreamed into and across all sectors. In addition to Fiji, the BIODEV 2030 project is also implemented in 15 other countries, representative of various socio-economic, environmental and geographical contexts.
“Fiji is the only Pacific Island county and one of the 16 pilot countries that will participate in this project. I look forward to working with all stakeholders as we roll out the project”, said Mr Mason Smith, Regional Director for IUCN Oceania.
“At the end of the project, IUCN will be disseminating the findings and lessons learnt and hope this can be scaled up in the region”, Mr Smith added.
For Fiji, the project will support the country’s commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its work on Fiji’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Furthermore, the project will also support science-based evaluations such as the STAR (Species Threat Abatement and Restoration) metric that will in turn assist decision-makers.
The BIODEV 2030 project is a global pilot program that aims to tackle the biodiversity crisis through updating the science that underpins decision making on biodiversity; supporting private sector commitment and actions for biodiversity; and developing a global apex target for biodiversity. In partnership with the Fijian government, the project is funded by the French Development Agency (French: Agence française de développement, AFD) with implementing partners IUCN, Expertise France and WWF.
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