The incorporation of biodiversity-related issues in impact assessment has received considerable attention from the global conservation community comprising practitioners, academics, planners, and decision makers. The secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ecology and Biodiversity section of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) have been active in developing guidelines for the better integration of biodiversity in both Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Other bodies like the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar, 1971), Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and nature habitats (Bern, 1979), and the Convention on Migratory Species (Bonn, 1979) have also been influential on the topic. Special biodiversity issues of impact assessment-related scientific journals (Impact Assessment andPolicy Appraisal and Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management) have contributed in highlighting the need for integrating biodiversity concerns in impact assessment. With these specific efforts, a desirable convergence of interests has now come about between international biodiversity related initiatives and the world of impact assessment. Despite this, literature search and the recent reviews of impact assessment studies suggest that biodiversity considerations on the whole are not as well served by impact assessment practice as they should be. There consequently is an urgent need to bring together the varied experience gathered in the areas of ecology/biodiversity conservation and impact assessment.

The only comprehensive book available on biodiversity in impact assessment so far is Ecological Impact Assessment by Jo Treweek (1999). As the focus of this book was limited to Environmental Impact Assessment and its internationally accepted procedural steps, an update is genuinely needed after rapid and recent developments in Strategic Environmental Assessment.