Bringing in multiple perspectives, especially those that usually remain invisible, is a universal challenge to policy processes today. India undertook an ambitious participatory process to prepare a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) under the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity – with the extra challenge of integrating opinions over a vast national scale.

Based on interviews with over 190 people involved in (or, in some cases, excluded from) the NBSAP in four India states, “An Activist Approach to Biodiversity Planning,” reviews the key successes and challenges in achieving a truly participatory process of policy planning. Moving beyond general principles of participation, the review identifies precise approaches that work to include diverse local opinions – along with associated risks and pitfalls – emerging from on-the-ground experience.

 A range of successful tools are explained step-by-step to help practitioners adapt and design appropriate approaches for their own contexts internationally. Further advice comes from an overview of common lessons across the set of very different opportunities and constraints faced in different settings – ranging from well resourced to poorly supported, from urban to inaccessibly rural, and from reluctant to enthusiastic.