Parallel Session | Panel 3.3 | Mainstreaming biodiversity in development policies: what contribution can research make to develop cross- functional public action? Illustrations with the ECOPRONAT program.

Session Organizer: AFD – Agence Française de développement.

Session Description: This session will directly address the conference theme by discussing the links between biodiversity and sustainable development policies, through the presentation of research initiatives, experiences, and tools. It will address the following sub-themes: Alternative, nature-based solutions (NBS) for sustainability challenges (including perspective from indigenous people) Mainstreaming biodiversity and scaling up mainstreaming Context There is an urgent need to implement transformative changes in the sectors of activity that cause the degradation of nature, in addition to protect ecosystems and endangered species. Developed and financed by AFD (Agence Française de Développement), the research program for a pro-nature economy (ECOPRONAT) aims to develop knowledge and methodologies to integrate biodiversity into the policies and various areas of intervention of AFD Group, mobilize financial resources, strengthen the capacities of researchers in the South and provide support for change to AFD’s partner. The ECOPRONAT program is structured around several activities : research work, call for research projects, support for researchers and support for pro-nature project sponsors.

Session objectives and description The theme of our proposal is mainstreaming biodiversity and its integration into existing public policies, from national to local level. Researchers supported by the ECOPRONAT program will present their research projects and share knowledge to identify the levers that will enable biodiversity to be better integrated into public development policies.

The following questions will be addressed:

How link ecological information to social-economic information, to better understand the dependence, and impact, of the economy and society on the natural world? How can governments and local governments move towards systematic, structured, and long-term biodiversity monitoring? What can be the role of local governments? How can we consider the multiple benefits of biodiversity and break out of silo approaches? How can research contribute to cross-disciplinary public action? How to create shared mainstream pathways and knowledge products between environmental and development agencies? How to develop NBS which directly address biodiversity and sustainable development? What are the regulations and governance instruments to be designed to support this development? The session will last 90 minutes, moderated by AFD and divided into three main parts, covering the questions presented above : Developing a cross-disciplinary public action, links between research and public stakeholders.

Operationalizing biodiversity data at national level.

Developing NBS, particularly on an urban scale. These three parts will last between 20 to 25 minutes and each of them will be followed by a 10-minute Q&A session to engage the audience and encourage active participation.

Key takeaways :

Levers on integrating biodiversity research results into public development policies. Knowledge of tools for interfacing ecological and socio-economic data. Knowledge and experiences of NBS, operational solutions that place biodiversity and the services provided by natural ecosystems at the heart of development policies.