Side Event

Biodiversity as an engine of inclusive green growth

Organizer
The World Bank

Date and Time
17 October 2012 13:15 - 14:45

Meeting
Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11)

Biodiversity and livelihoods are inextricably linked and provides for the needs for over 400 million people in south Asia alone. The linkages between biodiversity and poverty are complex and not fully understood due to their free availability as public goods, undervaluation, not considered as externality and lack of mainstreaming in national and international development agendas. As a result, the areas rich in biodiversity are also pockets of deep poverty. There is an opportunity to invest in biodiversity conservation through sustainable livelihood approach, as economies embark on creating millions of jobs to maintain growth with equity. The side event will present best practices in using biodiversity, including the protected areas, for driving economic growth and change the paradigm through innovative approaches and strategies for livelihood linked biodiversity conservation that is green and inclusive.