3 October 2013: The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has organized a meeting to discuss biodiversity mainstreaming and share lessons and best practices from the last decade, with the goal of informing future biodiversity mainstreaming activities.

The event took place from from 1-3 October, at the research center of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa, where a decade ago, practitioners met to define biodiversity mainstreaming and develop GEF guidelines. The 2013 version took stock of ten years of the GEF’s work on interventions in policy, planning, production practice and financial mechanisms. Participants discussed successful cases, including, for example, the Working for Water program, developed in South Africa, which eradicates alien invasive trees from the threatened Cape Floral Kingdom. They also learned from South Africa’s experiences in engaging with the business sector in setting biodiversity policies.

According to the conference background paper, the GEF will have supported a total of 327 biodiversity mainstreaming projects, totaling US$1,631,684,477 in GEF funding and US$5,249,734,936 in co-financing between 2004-2014. The concept of mainstreaming characteristics include: integrating/internalizing/including biodiversity goals in development models, policies and programs; modifying that into which mainstreaming is integrated; simultaneously achieving positive biodiversity and development outcomes; and modifying human behavior to increase sustainability. [GEF Press Release] [STAP Presentations] [Conference Background Paper]