USAID envisions a future in which biodiversity is conserved so people and nature can thrive. The USAID Biodiversity Policy provides a blueprint for how the Agency will work to conserve biodiversity in priority places and catalyze nature-positive, equitable development.

The Agency’s biodiversity programming conserves critical terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, and addresses the illegal and over harvest and collection of biodiversity. USAID is working at all levels of government, with local communities and Indigenous Peoples, and with the private sector, to increase the resilience of all those who depend on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.

USAID Biodiversity Policy cover

2024 USAID Biodiversity Policy

Conserving Biodiversity so People and Nature Can Thrive

The USAID Biodiversity Policy provides a blueprint for how the Agency will work to conserve biodiversity in priority places and catalyze nature-positive, equitable development.

View the USAID Biodiversity Policy
 

Where We Work

USAID works in more than 60 countries to conserve biodiversity, fight nature crime, and support sustainable fisheries.

 
 
Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework cover

Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework

Sound management of environmental and natural resources is integral to a country’s development, resilience, and self-reliance. The Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework serves as an Agency-wide guiding document to ensure USAID investments in all sectors bring environmental considerations to the forefront.

View the Framework
 
 

Learn more about the Agency's work on these thematic pages

 

Wildlife

Healthy wildlife populations are intrinsically valuable and integral to global well-being and cultural heritage. According to a 2020 World Wildlife Fund report, more than 70 percent of wildlife has been lost in the past 50 years, with habitat loss and degradation accounting for almost half of this loss. USAID’s comprehensive approach to wildlife conservation and management includes efforts to combat illegal trade, reduce human–wildlife disease transmission, and foster wildlife-friendly enterprises.

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USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Nepal; National Trust for Nature Conservation). November 2017. Elephant. National Trust for Nature Conservation offices (NTNC) offices. Sauraha, Chitwan District, Nepal. Photograph by Jason Houston for USAID
 
Fisherman-Peru

Marine and Fisheries

Effective marine conservation maintains and enhances valuable ocean and coastal ecosystems and their natural capital, ensuring healthy fish and marine ecosystems for current and future populations. Each year, USAID invests more than $33 million in about 15 countries to promote sustainable fisheries and conserve marine biodiversity. The Agency’s work focuses on strengthening resource governance and management, combating illegal fishing, improving food security and resilience, and empowering women.

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Forestry

More than a billion people worldwide rely on forests for some portion of their livelihoods. The trade in illegal timber is estimated at $51–$152 billion annually, simultaneously threatening the world’s forests and taking resources from local communities that rely on forests for food, health, and income. Forests provide a wealth of benefits: They protect biodiversity and water resources, sequester carbon, provide important wildlife habitat, improve health and nutrition, provide timber and other non-timber forest products that contribute to livelihoods, and shelter communities from weather and climate extremes. By improving forest management and protection, USAID supports communities and their well-being.

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Credit: Winrock International
 

Cross-Sectoral Integration

Collaboration and engagement across sectors helps to achieve and sustain development and conservation outcomes. Biodiversity conservation is an essential component of human development and closely linked to ending extreme poverty, increasing food security, improving public health, and building resilience to crises. As part of the Biodiversity Policy, USAID prioritizes integrated programming approaches and building the evidence base for integration.

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Adaptive Management

Adaptive management is an intentional approach to making decisions and adjustments in response to new information and changes in context. Adaptive management at USAID occurs throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation of USAID activities and is part of a systematic and iterative use of knowledge and learning. We support the development of tools and approaches to strengthen adaptive management in biodiversity programming (such as the use of the Conservation Standards) to consistently test our assumptions and support a culture of intentional organizational learning for stronger biodiversity conservation results.

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