05-08-2015 - Increasingly, the areas of the world with high biodiversity value overlap with areas of interest to the private sector for resource extraction (e.g. mining, oil and gas, logging), power generation (e.g. hydro, windpower, solar), and other development projects. These projects have been, and will continue to be, promoted by governments aiming to achieve economic growth.
The environmental impacts of these projects can be reduced and mitigated, particularly because many financial institutions such as the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) require adherence to high environmental standards and policies in order to fund the projects.
Achieving compliance with these high standards requires input from conservation scientists such as those meeting in Montpellier for the 27th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) being held in conjunction with the 4th European Congress for Conservation Biology in Montpellier, France, 2-6 August 2015. ICCB is the international conference of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Examples of development projects guided by conservation science include a pipeline in Peru, where conservation scientists guided restoration of the buried pipeline’s right of way and are monitoring impacts on local wildlife. Similarly, conservation NGOs and scientists in North-eastern Pakistan are developing a basin wide biodiversity strategy for the Jhelum River to conserve endangered fish species amidst a cascade of planned hydropower projects.
At noon on Thursday, August 6, 2015, conservation biologists will discuss a road map for conservation biologists to work with the private sector to achieve biodiversity conservation. The group will discuss environmental standards in the private sector as well as case studies of the key role of conservation science. A discussion will follow of how the conservation and academic community can play a larger role in guiding the private sector in the conservation of biodiversity.