Symposium Theme
IAIA Special Symposium
Mainstreaming the Mitigation Hierarchy in Impact Assessment
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) HQ
Washington D.C., USA
14-15 November 2017
In 2017 we are five years on from the release of the seminal and highly influential 2012 International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards. The recently revised World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and updated standards and recently approved International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Biodiversity Offsets Policy mark a convergence with these, and with greater emphasis on borrower country frameworks for their implementation. Many borrowing countries are in the process of either developing or applying new policies on biodiversity and ecosystem services that emphasize the importance of effective mitigation planning within the impact assessment (IA) process.
IAIA, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IUCN, is holding a two-day special symposium on Mainstreaming the Mitigation Hierarchy in Impact Assessment in Washington, D.C., followed by two days of specialized training courses. The symposium will provide a forum for sharing and advancing leading practice in mitigation hierarchy implementation for biodiversity and ecosystem services to improve outcomes for society, conservation, business, and finance. It aims to broaden the community of practice, building a shared interpretation of standards and approaches commensurate with risk and opportunity.
In addition to presentations, the symposium will feature debates based on experience of implementation on "thorny topics" with a view to resolving inconsistencies and informing risk-management processes.
