BIODEV2030 Ethiopia unites stakeholders to advance nature-positive development pathways
On 7 February 2026, Bishoftu, Ethiopia, the BIODEV2030 project hosted the fourth national stakeholder workshop. This gathering brought together senior officials from the Ethiopia Biodiversity Institute, the Ethiopia Forestry Development, Ethiopian Wildlife Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Environment Protection Authority and the national (Convention on Biological Diversity) CBD Focal Point, alongside a diverse range of multi-stakeholders.
The workshop served as a critical forum to translate high-level policy commitments into visible, integrated action plans for biodiversity and development.
In addition to sectoral authorities, NGO directors and managers of several multilateral-funded flagship programs attended and pledged to carry forward BIODEV’s tools and approaches. The discussions affirmed that true development is a communal endeavour and that conservation cannot be pursued in isolation. It requires deliberate collaboration with all economic sectors. The BIODEV2030 project, facilitated by IUCN, was highlighted as a relevant and able framework to achieve this, providing practical tools to reconcile nature conservation with national economic ambitions.
Participants pointed to Ethiopia’s landmark Green Legacy Initiative as a clear signal of the nation’s policy intent, creating a conducive environment for systemic, long-term change. However, evidence from national assessments presented a sobering reality that biodiversity loss is accelerating, driven primarily by land use change. The core challenge identified is not development itself, but how it is designed and incentivized.
The workshop commended the BIODEV2030 methodology for enabling effective multistakeholder engagement and offering a practical pathway to implement Ethiopia’s revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). This plan strongly emphasizes spatial planning and ecosystem restoration, aligning with global targets. The strategic importance of Ethiopia’s existing agroecological policy and its draft agroforestry policy was also underscored as foundational to this integrated approach.
A central conclusion was the imperative to embed biodiversity considerations into the very design of all development projects. Participants agreed that economic incentives must be structured to reward sustainable practices. Linking the BIODEV2030 findings directly to Ethiopia’s NBSAP and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was seen as essential for achieving the nation’s biodiversity goals.
While acknowledging that progress toward nature-positive economies requires sustained effort, the workshop encouraged accelerated action in sustainable production and strengthened transboundary collaboration, recognizing the shared management of important regional resources.
This convening reinforced a shared national commitment to move from policy to practice, positioning collaborative, evidence-based planning as the cornerstone of Ethiopia’s sustainable future.
A group of national program managers including the coordinator of the Premier’s Green Legacy Initiative, managers of World Bank-funded multi-year programs (Sustainable Land Management Program (SLMP) and Climate Action through Land Management (CALM), and the NBSAP coordinator, contributed to the panel discussions, culminating in their commitment to sustain BIODEV’s efforts to mainstream biodiversity in development.
BIODEV2030 is implemented by IUCN and WWF-France, coordinated by Expertise France and funded by the AFD, the BIODEV2030 project offers an innovative approach of biodiversity mainstreaming, based on science and multi-stakeholder dialogue. It specifically aims to steer a national vision for the sectoral integration of biodiversity, and to support changes in production practices.