The course presents an overview of the most relevant concepts, developments and tools in biodiversity conservation with regard to development cooperation and offers a broad forum for the exchange of experiences with colleagues and other experts. The two annual seminars on nature conservation in development cooperation have been held since 1999 at the International Academy for Nature Conservation, Isle of Vilm. Both seminars are jointly organised by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and KfW development bank on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the International Academy for Nature Conservation of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN).