Business & Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP)

With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, a workshop on Biodiversity Offsets: Pilot Projects and Potential in Africa was organized by Conservation International, as part of the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group on Monday May 4th, 2009 to discuss biodiversity offsets and their potential as a tool for conservation in Africa. The workshop included over thirty participants from government agencies, NGO’s, development organizations and universities. The goal of the workshop was for participants to have a shared understanding of biodiversity offsets, the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP) and the successes and challenges of BBOP pilot projects and policy efforts in Africa.

• What are the opportunities and risks of offsets for governments, communities, conservation organizations and companies?
• What is the incentive for companies to do an offset?
• Many countries lack the capacity, regulatory framework or strategies for biodiversity conservation to support the implementation of offsets. How is this to be overcome?
• How can we bring livelihood issues and poverty alleviation in to the design of biodiversity offsets?
• What could be the role of local communities in offset design and implementation?
• What are the data and capacity constraints for effective offset design and implementation in Africa?
• How can we find more companies willing to undertake pilot projects in Africa?