Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being. The health of our planet’s ecosystems is foundational to human health, security, and the global economy. Yet, an estimated one million plant and animal species face extinction as habitat loss and over-exploitation threaten the viability and resilience of vital terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Fragile and weakening ecosystems pose severe risks to development progress.
USAID’s biodiversity conservation work and integrated approach are more critical now than ever. By conserving biodiversity, we enhance ecosystem resilience needed for achieving long-term environmental stability and human well-being.
In FY 2022, through support from Congress and guided by the Agency’s Biodiversity Policy, USAID worked in more than 60 countries to conserve biodiversity, fight nature crime, and support sustainable fisheries. The Agency’s programming is conserving critical ecosystems, and addressing the illegal harvest and overexploitation of biodiversity. By investing in priority biodiversity areas, USAID helps vulnerable people secure better health and well-being while managing and conserving their natural wealth. 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 for food, jobs, and security.
