Foreign Assistance Act Sections 118 and 119 Tropical Forests and Biodiversity Analysis

Agency for International Development (USAID) missions preparing regional or country development strategies. This analysis is a mandatory strategy-level assessment that responds to the legislative language of Sections 118 and 119. Section 118 emphasizes the importance of tropical forest conservation and sustainable management in developing countries, while Section 119 highlights the irreparable loss of animal and plant species and its potential environmental and economic consequences for both developing and developed countries. These sections require that each country development strategy statement or other country plan prepared by USAID include an analysis of the threats to biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of tropical forests, as well as the extent to which USAID can address these threats. To ensure compliance with the requirements of the legislation and USAID's Program Cycle Operational Policy, missions should initiate the analysis before launching Phase I of the country development strategy (CDCS) process. The analysis should describe the actions necessary to achieve conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests and biodiversity, as well as the extent to which USAID is taking actions in any sector to achieve these goals. The analysis must be completed prior to the completion of Phase II, Results Framework Development, and should be reflected in the results framework paper and/or the final CDCS. The findings of the analysis should be incorporated into the CDCS in one or more of the following ways: a paragraph summarizing cross-sectoral actions, an "extent to which" table or annex, or incorporation of cross-sectoral actions throughout the text of the results framework paper and/or CDCS. The program office has overall responsibility for ensuring that the analysis is timed correctly and integrated into the mission's CDCS. The program office will support the budgeting, funding, and procuring of the analysis, which can be carried out internally, by contractors, or a combination of both. The program office is responsible for documenting the use of the analysis in the CDCS and submitting the final report. The designated analysis activity manager plays a leadership role from the start, developing the statement of work (SOW) to the finish, when incorporating the recommendations into the CDCS and beyond. Environment staff may not always have a lead role in conducting the analysis but should provide substantive technical input to the analysis. The Regional Bureau technical office directors or team leads should designate staff to provide technical input and support to the analysis. The analysis should be initiated at the start of or before Phase I of the CDCS development process and should be complete with all data collected and synthesized into a report prior to the end of Phase II. The analysis can take anywhere from three to eight months depending on the amount of time needed to develop the SOW, conduct fieldwork, and review, revise, and finalize the report.