SwedBio programme for biodiversity & equitable development 2021-2024

SwedBio has applied to Sida for a grant of SEK 180 million to implement the global programme "SwedBio – A programme for biodiversity and equitable development in harmony with nature at Stockholm Resilience Centre" for four years, 2021-2024. The support is to finance 100% of SwedBio's programme at the Stockholm Resilience Centre for cooperation, knowledge and capacity building in biological diversity, resilience, poverty alleviation and human rights. The programme includes the further transfer of funds to partners in the South. The programme aims to contribute to the development of increased biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and communities in addition to poverty reduction and respected human rights. This is to be achieved through collaborative partnerships for the development of policies and practices at international, national and, to some extent, local level. An increased focus compared to the previous program is on strengthening the integration of conflict and gender perspectives and a strengthened rights perspective in line with the recommendations of the mid-term review. The organisation has a particular strength in SwedBio's long-term cooperation with NGOs which are mainly based in developing countries. SwedBio's collaboration with the Stockholm Resilience Centre gives them additional strengths as it expands the capacity and availability of highly qualified personnel at strategic moments, which is a valuable asset for SwedBio. A feature of SwedBio is their work to act as a knowledge interface and improve dialogue between different actors, from indigenous people and popular movements to the international scientific community and UN negotiators. SwedBio was founded on initiative from Sida in 2002 and was until 2011 housed at the Centre for Biological Diversity at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). In 2011, the program changed its host to the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and is now an integral part of SRC. The division of responsibilities is as follows: Stockholm University acts as SwedBio's contracting party because the Stockholm Resilience Centre is not an organisation of its own, but is under the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Stockholm University. However, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and its Board of Directors are responsible for ensuring that the program is implemented as agreed. The SwedBio program's head of unit has some delegated decision-making capacity and is responsible for day-to-day operations. SwedBio's staff including head of unit is financed by SwedBio's programme budget.