Biodiversity Understanding in Infrastructure and Landscape Development (BUILD)

Governments worldwide are projected to spend approximately $35 trillion on infrastructure projects over the next two decades. However, unless it is thoughtfully done, expanding infrastructure may not be environmentally or socially neutral. The potential benefits to society of well-planned, coordinated, and managed infrastructure are clear, while poorly planned or implemented infrastructure threatens biodiversity and ecosystem integrity and undermines long-term economic and social growth. The international biodiversity conservation community has struggled to effectively engage with the infrastructure community, often entering the dialogue too late to have meaningful impact. Stages of the infrastructure development process include policy, regulatory, and legal frameworks; integrated development planning; project identification and development; compensation; and mitigation. The earlier along this spectrum that transparent and inclusive communication between the conservation and infrastructure development communities occurs, the higher the likelihood of success for enduring economic and social development. USAID's support to the Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) through the BUILD program aims to improve policy, regulatory, and planning approaches to avoid or reduce negative impacts of infrastructure development on biodiversity. CSF applies economic tools for conservation results and creates lasting human capacity for infrastructure analysis with the goal of improving selection, design, and mitigation of key projects in focus regions. The program will strengthen civil society by improving the capacity of governments, citizens, and the private sector to work together to balance expanding infrastructure with conservation. The BUILD program focuses on three regions: Africa's Albertine Rift, South America's Andes-Amazon, and Asia's Himalayas. The program's expected results include laying the groundwork for policies and regulatory frameworks that integrate and protect biodiversity through a holistic ecosystem-based perspective. Additionally, the program aims to develop tools and planning approaches to support ecosystem-based infrastructure policies that balance biodiversity values across a landscape and seascape scale. Furthermore, the program seeks to increase the capacity of decision makers and stakeholders to apply and institutionalize these tools and approaches. The BUILD program is a three-year initiative that began in 2011 and will conclude in 2014. The program has a total investment of $2,018,940, with USAID providing $1,200,000 and the Conservation Strategy Fund contributing $818,940. The program is partnering with several organizations, including the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, the Uganda National Environmental Management Authority, Pro Publica, and the Ugyen Wanchuck Institute for Environment and Conservation.