The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Conservation and Sustainability (CCS) conducts research and monitoring to study, understand, predict and integrate biodiversity conservation needs with development priorities of large infrastructure projects.

SCBI leads projects nationally and internationally in an effort to study biodiversity and make recommendations on conservation and sustainable development. Guided by the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity, SCBI scientists have worked with a select group of oil and gas companies since 1996 to develop best practices in conservation and development to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services that benefit both humans and wildlife.