EIA-driven biodiversity mainstreaming in development cooperation: Confronting expectations and practice in the DR Congo

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14310%2F20%3A00117039" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14310/20:00117039 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.003" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.003</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.003" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.003</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

EIA-driven biodiversity mainstreaming in development cooperation: Confronting expectations and practice in the DR Congo

Original language description

Mainstreaming biodiversity in development cooperation activities is called for by scientists and policy-makers alike, as the current biodiversity crisis can only be mitigated if the linkages between biodiversity and human wellbeing are acknowledged. Reconciling biodiversity conservation and human development is a particularly topical challenge in highly biodiverse developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the population is highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. This study combines expert interviews with an evaluation of environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, in order to determine the current motivations, obstacles and effectiveness of biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC and to assess the framing, the representation and use of biodiversity in recently conducted EIAs in the DRC. Our findings indicate that biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC is considered challenging due to enduring contextual (e.g. governance) factors; and that there is a strong support base for EIA among the interviewed experts. Turning to actual EIAs that were recently performed in the DRC, the diversity of framings motivating the uptake of biodiversity is remarkable. Instrumental reasons do not thwart intrinsic motivations -which is indicative of a support base for the non-instrumental value of biodiversity. The use of biodiversity baseline data in mitigation measures is low, and the taxonomic resolution of the biodiversity data in EIAs is uneven. Despite these challenges, the potential of EIA in the DRC is considered high, and linkages between project-driven EIA practice and biodiversity data collection and dissemination should be strengthened.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10511 - Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Environmental Science & Policy

ISSN

1462-9011

e-ISSN

1873-6416

Volume of the periodical

104

Issue of the periodical within the volume

FEB 2020

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

107-120

UT code for WoS article

000513291300013

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85076011902