Lessons Learned from the USAID Biodiversity Integration Case Study Competition

Integration of biodiversity objectives and considerations with other development sectors has the potential to increase the sustainability of USAID programming, amplify results, and save costs. The collection of 17 cases from the 2019 USAID Biodiversity Integration Case Study Competition illustrates how biodiversity conservation is critically linked to the journey to self-reliance—by reducing extreme poverty, increasing food security, improving human health, managing climate impacts, building resilience to recurrent crises, and achieving many other development objectives. Together, the cases provide a snapshot of how USAID missions and implementing partners conceptualize, design, and implement cross-sectoral integration. This synthesis shares lessons learned on biodiversity integration from across the 17 cases. The Biodiversity Integration Case Study Competition applicants included USAID staff and implementing partners working on USAID projects and activities.