Biological diversity

This set of 20 4-page briefs aims to raise awareness about biodiversity issues within EC development cooperation. The briefs are broken down into three types, including policy, sector and background biodiversity briefs. The first two indicate important issues to be considered by policy makers and technical advisers at policy, programme and project levels, and the third category summarizes topics and legal responsibilities for a general audience.

Un gran número de especies exóticas están invadiendo distintos sitios del planeta, y no se trata de seres de otro mundo… sino de terrícolas! En esta publicación son resumidos los principales estudios de caso que se presentaron durante el Taller Regional sobre Especies Invasoras en Mesoamérica y el Caribe que tuvo lugar en Costa Rica en Junio 2001.

In 1990, the Bundala lagoons of Sri Lanka became the country's first Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl. In 1992, Bundala was upgraded to a National Park. This guide to the habitats, animals and plant species currently present in Bundala National Park stems from a survey on the status of the park's biodiversity conducted by IUCN's Country Office in Sri Lanka. It is hoped that this guide will raise awareness of this important protected area.

This document is the product of extensive consultation between EC policy advisers and task managers dealing with biodiversity and the environment, and those working on natural resource and non-natural resource issues. The important issue of integrating biodiversity into development cooperation policy and practice is addressed. It highlights the need to realise biodiversity's full potential to support development while addressing the direct and underlying causes of its loss.

A companion document to the Strategic Approach document, this guide reviews the lessons learned from the various agency initiatives to integrate biodiversity issues into development cooperation programmes. The lessons learned have been condensed into a set of Guiding Principles which aim to ensure that development cooperation projects and programmes are effective and sustainable, and take full account of environmental security and biodiversity issues.