Conservation is development. USAID achieves cross-cutting results through programming that protects priority land and seascapes and promotes the security, health, and prosperity of local communities.
Featured Story
Conserving Marine Resources for Future Generations
STORY, – USAID works with local governments and communities in Masinloc to improve natural resource governance, conserve marine biodiversity, and combat nature crimes—preserving the Philippines’ rich marine resources while improving the livelihoods of communities who depend on them.
Primary TextConserving biodiversity and forests is one of the most important steps we can take to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss while reducing the risk of disease spillover and potential future pandemics.
Secondary Text— USAID Administrator Samantha Power
Conservation is an American tradition that creates and sustains economic opportunity and protects the plants, animals, and natural places that communities need to thrive. By investing in the world’s priority biodiversity areas, USAID helps the world’s most vulnerable people secure better health and well-being outcomes while managing and conserving their natural wealth.
Jason Houston / USAID
Guided by the Agency’s Biodiversity Policy and Environmental and Natural Resource Management Framework, USAID works in approximately 60 countries to conserve biodiversity, leverage private sector funds, fight conservation crime, and support sustainable fisheries. USAID’s work is more critical than ever: Nature is declining at unprecedented rates in human history and an estimated 1 million plant and animal species face extinction. Declines in biodiversity and ecosystem services threaten to undermine progress already achieved toward many global development goals and our ability to effectively support partner countries’ economies, global health, security, and capabilities to adapt to a changing climate.
USAID invests in biodiversity conservation because:
Approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide rely on forests for their livelihoods, especially the rural poor.
Biodiversity loss increases risks of disease and poor nutrition.
Environmental sectors, like forestry and fisheries, are important entry points for women’s economic empowerment.
Biodiversity keeps soils fertile, agricultural pests in check, and supports pollinators that sustain and improve food security through increased agricultural productivity.
Fighting environmental crime and corruption in rural communities improves safety and opportunities for legal livelihoods.
Biodiversity Conservation and Forestry Programs Annual Report
Combating Wildlife Trafficking
Consumer demand and transnational organized criminal networks are driving the illicit trade of wildlife and wildlife products. The illegal trade has evolved into one of the world's largest black markets and is valued at tens of billions of dollars. A broad development issue, wildlife crime threatens wildlife populations, wildlife-friendly livelihoods such as ecotourism, and community lands. The activities of criminal networks fuel global corruption and harm local communities and the ecosystems where they live.
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
Sustainable management and conservation of fisheries and other marine and coastal resources support countries in their journey to self-reliance and promote national security—particularly because more than 3 billion people worldwide depend on fisheries for their food security and jobs. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing comes at a high cost to people involved in catching, processing, and consuming seafood around the world.
Illegal Logging and Deforestation
Biodiversity Stories
How Chocolate Stimulates Taste Buds, Forests, and Communities
STORY, – This World Chocolate Day learn about how USAID’s HEARTH activities connect local cacao farmers to international corporations.
Conserving Marine Resources for Future Generations
STORY, – USAID works with local governments and communities in Masinloc to improve natural resource governance, conserve marine biodiversity, and combat nature crimes—preserving the Philippines’ rich marine resources while improving the livelihoods of communities who depend on them.
