South African National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism provides funding for LAB Local Government Biodiversity Management Guidebook

On Monday 20^th of April, the South African National Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and the ICLEI Africa Secretariat finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding a significant contribution from DEAT towards the publication of the much anticipated LAB Local Government Biodiversity Management Guidebook.

The LAB Guidebook promises to be a unique and invaluable compilation of global good practice in biodiversity management aimed at local governments. The Guidebook, which is being coordinated by ICLEI’s LAB Project Team, is based on the outputs and lessons learned through the LAB pioneer project whereby 21 pioneering local governments from across the globe shared experiences, successes, challenges and approaches to biodiversity management in an urban context.

The LAB Guidebook will cover a comprehensive range of aspects of biodiversity management including:

linkages between biodiversity and climate change and sustainability;

mainstreaming biodiversity throughout local government sectors;

partnerships;

• biodiversity assessment;
• biodiversity planning;
• biodiversity management;
• biodiversity in legislation and policy;
• mechanisms for implementing biodiversity conservation;
• communication and participation in biodiversity.

The LAB Guidebook will be launched officially during the International Year of Biodiversity, 2010, at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan.