The
Mapping Biodiversity Priorities (MBP) in Botswana, Ethiopia, and Malawi pilot project was initiated in 2017 and is implemented by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Implemented in two phases, the project aims to build NBSAP implementation capacity in three African countries through the development and use of biodiversity and socio-economic spatial data and information products to integrate biodiversity into other sectors and national development priorities.
The first phase set the foundation for biodiversity mainstreaming into government machinery planning processes by producing spatial biodiversity assessment maps on ecosystem type, threat status, and protection level (see figures) as well as building capacity in each country for the use of spatial products and socio-economic information. Phase two, initiated in December 2020 and set to finish in early 2022, integrates Phase one outputs into priority sectoral entry points in each country, delivered through a variety of national-level interventions. Respective entry points for each county are Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) guidelines (Malawi), the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPIII), (Ethiopia), and the State of the Environment and Outlook Report (SOE&OR), (Botswana).
Over the course of Phase two, each country has made valuable progress towards their mainstreaming goals. In Botswana, the Spatial Biodiversity Assessment products have been incorporated throughout the biodiversity chapter of the SOE&OR. In Malawi, representations are underway on proposed revisions for the ESIA guidelines, and a 6-step workflow has been drafted to show how spatial biodiversity products should be included in ESIA. Stakeholders within the government of Ethiopia are now eager to use the Spatial Biodiversity Assessment products in planning, which have been made widely available through the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute’s
Geo-portal. Additional future mainstreaming entry points have been identified in the three countries. These include national and regional planning processes; sectoral planning within water, agriculture, and mining; Natural Capital Accounting; and National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (NBSAPs), amongst others.
Prior to the MBP Project, the three countries had limited knowledge of where to access biodiversity data. The project has actively improved in-country links between biodiversity data providers and policy users of biodiversity assessments. Participating countries have also indicated that the spatial analysis skills of the implementing organization and its key stakeholders have improved. Additionally, it has proven useful to assemble salient biodiversity data and shape files that could be further used for other purposes. In Phase two, a set of technical update guides have been developed to help countries engage with the technical methods of spatial biodiversity assessment and a set of guidance has also been developed that introduces mainstreaming approaches and prioritization. The three countries have made use of the guidance in their mainstreaming work.