In this seminar, Sara Carlson and Jennifer Kan will reflect on USAID's 2024 Biodiversity Policy, providing insight into what the development of these plans can tell us about collaborative, evidence-driven policymaking for the biodiversity crisis.
Abstract: Humankind possesses greater access to food and energy, scientific knowledge, and technology today than ever before. Simultaneously, the world is experiencing unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. In response, scientific experts and policymakers around the world are calling for “transformative change” to fundamentally shift society’s relationship with the global environment, and to meet ambitious global targets for biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development, notably under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In this context of a worsening biodiversity crisis and calls for transformative change, the United States Agency for International Development updated its Biodiversity Policy in 2024 to reflect both a deep understanding of the role that healthy natural systems play in achieving development goals and the need for major shifts to address biodiversity loss and climate change together. The Biodiversity Policy guided the design and implementation of USAID’s $350 million (annual) global biodiversity conservation portfolio and the integration of biodiversity considerations across its entire development portfolio (~$20 billion). The 2024 USAID Biodiversity Policy was developed through a robust internal and external engagement process through which USAID consulted with stakeholders globally, including current and former staff, implementing partners, international and local nongovernmental organizations, Indigenous Peoples organizations, the U.S. Government interagency, donors, academia, and the private sector. It also incorporated evidence from more than 140 studies and reports. This talk will discuss lessons learned from developing the 2024 USAID Biodiversity Policy alongside insights from its co-leads, and what these can tell us about collaborative, evidence-driven policymaking for the biodiversity crisis, now and in the future.
Biographies:
Sara Carlson is an independent biodiversity advisor who leads efforts to integrate scientific research and evidence in international conservation and integrated programming, aiming to bridge the “research-implementation gap.” Sara worked as a Senior Biodiversity Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for over 12 years, where she led the Biodiversity Division’s work on evidence-based programming and also focused on the linkages between food security and biodiversity conservation and how to design development programs that conserve nature while supporting the food security and nutrition of the people who depend on it. A plant evolutionary biologist by training, Sara holds a PhD from Yale University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two daughters.
Jennifer Kan is an independent strategic and technical advisor focused on advancing biodiversity conservation, ocean resilience, and nature-based solutions in policy, programming, and finance contexts. She was a Senior Environment Advisor in the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where she worked for over 12 years, also serving as a Senior Biodiversity Advisor and Climate Change Program Specialist. Alongside her advisory work, she is a fiction, creative non-fiction, and technical writer. Jenny holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology and a Master of Public Policy in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland College Park, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Randolph College, and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California Santa Cruz. She lives in the DC Area with her two children.