Currently the World Bank is in the process of updating its environmental and social policies by creating a new Environmental and Social Framework which builds on the decades-old safeguard policies and aims at consolidating them into a more modern, unified framework that is more efficient and effective to apply and implement. The proposed framework would, inter alia, strengthen the conservation of biodiversity, taking the existing safeguard policy on natural habitats and forests and introducing more stringent requirements, as well as more clarity on how risks and adverse impacts on natural habitats must be mitigated. This issue is of great importance also for Moldova, as the existing legal documents in this regard (the Law on Ecological Expertise and Environmental Impact Assessment (1996) and on Environmental Impact Assessment (2014)) do not provide the necessary clarity and guidance on ensuring biodiversity conservation within both policy documents and concrete projects of economic activities.  The proposed Framework includes a special standard on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources which recognizes that protecting and conserving biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem services, and sustainably managing living natural resources are fundamental to sustainable development. Its main objectives are: (a) to protect and conserve biodiversity; (b) to maintain the benefits from ecosystem services; and (c) to promote the sustainable management of living natural resources through the adoption of practices that integrate conservation needs and development priorities. The requirements of this Standard are applied to projects: (i) located in modified, natural, and critical habitats; (ii) that potentially impact on or are dependent on ecosystem services over which the client has direct management control or significant influence; or (iii) that include the production of living natural resources (e.g., agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry).  During the environmental and social assessment, the Borrower should determine whether their projects affect biodiversity giving special consideration to affected communities whose use of and dependence on biodiversity resources are affected by the project. If the assessment identifies potential impacts on living natural resources, the Borrower will need to develop appropriate measures to manage these sustainably.  Overall the proposed Standard follows the main stipulations of existing operational policies on natural habitats and forests but provides also several new and important requirements, and in particular the following: (a) no significant conversion or degradation of critical habitats: The new framework strengthens the conservation of biodiversity and the management of living natural resources through introducing clearer requirements for mitigating impacts of Bank-financed projects on biodiversity. Under the new framework, Bank funds cannot be used to finance or support projects that would involve a significant conversion or degradation of critical habitats; (b) requirements relating to Supply Chain: Where Borrowers are purchasing primary production such as food and fiber commodities that is known to take place in regions with a risk of significant conversion of critical habitats, the proposed Standard sets out stringent requirements relating to screening its primary suppliers; (c) protection of man-made habitats: The current safeguard policies cover only natural resources. In the proposed Standard, it is recognized that biodiversity in man-made habitats often needs to be protected; and (d) precautionary approach: Borrowers will need to take informed decisions on how natural living resources can be used in a project without damaging the long-term viability of the resources and the environment. The new World Bank Standard should be regarded as an opportunity for Moldova in its way of reforming and modernizing the national Environmental Assessment system, which the country committed to, inter alia, under the EU Association Agreement. The introduction in the national environmental assessment practice of clearer requirements for assessing risks and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services that might be generated by new projects will likely to result in a more comprehensive system that will ensure a higher degree of biodiversity conservation, protection of ecosystems, and their sustainable management in Moldova.