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National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans

Article 6 of the Convention (General measures for conservation and sustainable use) states:

Each Contracting Party shall, in accordance with its particular conditions and capabilities:

    (a) Develop national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity or adapt for this purpose existing strategies, plans or programmes which shall reflect, inter alia, the measures set out in this Convention relevant to the Contracting Party concerned; and

    (b) Integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies.

The Article creates an obligation for national biodiversity planning. The development and adoption of a national biodiversity strategy is thus a cornerstone to implementation of the Convention by Parties. A national strategy will reflect how the country intends to fulfill the objectives of the Convention in light of specific national circumstances, and the related action plans will constitute the sequence of steps to be taken to meet these goals.

Article 6 (b) requires that biodiversity considerations be mainstreamed into all aspects of national planning and is closely linked to Article 10 (a), which states that each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and appropriate:

    Integrate consideration of the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources into national decision-making.

The requirement to mainstream the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources across all sectors of the national economy and policy-making framework is the complex challenge at the heart of the Convention.

Consideration of Article 6 by the COP

Background and status

As part of its medium-term programme of work, the COP decided to address Article 6 for the first time at COP 2, where it adopted decision II/7 entitled 'Consideration of Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention'. It urged exchange of information and sharing of experiences on implementation of Article 6 and 8, and asked the Secretariat to make such information and experiences available through the clearing-house mechanism (CHM). COP 3 adopted decision III/9 on Implementation of Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention.

COP guidance

Guidance to Parties

The COP has provided specific additional guidance to Parties in relation to Article 6. For example, it has encouraged Parties, inter alia, to:

  • take into account guidelines such as those provided in National Biodiversity Planning published by UNEP, World Resources Institute and IUCN, when preparing and implementing their national strategies and action plans to collaborate with relevant organizations [decision II/17];

  • include in their national plans, strategies or legislation measures for in situ and ex situ conservation; sectoral integration of biodiversity considerations; and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources [decision III/9];

  • set measurable targets to achieve biodiversity conservation and sustainable use objectives [decision III/9]; and

  • ensure that the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, and of migratory species and their habitats, are fully incorporated into national strategies, programmes and plans [decision III/21].

The COP has also requested Parties to integrate elements of all the thematic work programmes into their national strategies and sectoral plans, and has also stressed the need for cross-border coordination of national strategies and the importance of regional and international cooperation for implementation of Article 6 [decision II/7]; decision III/9]. Implementation of Article 6 was the focus of the first national reports by Parties, submitted in accordance with Article 26 [decision II/17].

COP 7 stated that new and revised NBSAPs should be formulated to provide a coherent evaluation of the implementation of the goals of the Strategic Plan, 2010 target, national and regional objectives and complementary plans. In this regard, NBSAPs should stress the use of indicators to facilitate the assessment of progress made and the extent to which goals have been incorporated into other sectoral plans [decision VII/30].

The Guide to Developing a Biodiversity Strategy from a Sustainable Development Perspective was published in 2000 by the UNDP-UNEP Biodiversity Planning Support Programme, the Institut de l'énergie et de l'environnement de la Francophonie and the Quebec Environment Ministry. This publication was financially supported by the Global Environment Facility and provides a useful framework in the preparation and implementation of national strategies and action plans.

Financial mechanism and resources

COP 2 emphasized the importance of capacity-building and the availability of adequate financial resources, and requested the financial mechanism to facilitate urgent implementation of Article 6 (and Article 8) by making resources available to developing countries in a flexible and expeditious manner [decision II/6; decision II/7].

Accordingly, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides funding for enabling activities. The GEF Operational Strategy defines enabling activities in biodiversity as:

    '[Activities] that prepare the foundation to design and implement effective response measures to achieve Convention objectives. They will assist recipient countries to develop national strategies, plans or programs referred to in Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and to identify components of biodiversity together with processes and activities likely to have significant adverse impacts on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity pursuant to Article 7 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They will normally involve the review and assessment of information and will assist a recipient country to gain a better understanding of the nature and scope of its biodiversity assets and issues as well as a clearer sense of the options for the sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity. Enabling activities include supporting country-driven activities for taking stock of or inventorying biodiversity based on national programs and relying on studies, without new primary research; identifying options and establishing priorities to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity; preparing and developing biodiversity planning exercises, such as national strategies, action plans and sectoral plans; and disseminating of information through national communications to the Convention on Biological Diversity'

How this goal is operationalized is laid out in the GEF's Operational Criteria for Enabling Activities: Biodiversity. In response to the emphasis that the COP placed on capacity-building needs and identifying those needs, the GEF Council revised the operational criteria at its l3th meeting (see Guidelines for Additional Funding of Biodiversity Enabling Activities (Expedited Procedures), GEF, issued in February 2000)). These were revised again in October 2000 in the light of guidance from COP 5 (see Revised Guidelines for Additional Funding of Biodiversity Enabling Activities (Expedited Procedures)), in particular, to support the production of the second national report of Parties. For further details visit the GEF's Operational Guidelines for Enabling Activities page.

National biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs)

Over 140 eligible Parties have been assisted with the development of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans through biodiversity enabling activity funding. In addition, some developing country Parties are developing their NBSAPs with assistance from other sources, or without external assistance, and developed country Parties have developed NBSAPs or have adapted existing strategies.

Assessing implementation

Work on developing methodologies for assessing national implementation of the Convention has been undertaken by UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring Centre. In a pilot project, these methodologies have been used in the assessment of implementation in selected CEE/NIS countries. 

See also national biodiversity status information from 22 CEE and NIS countries, and "Integrating Biodiversity in Europe: a review of CBD General Measures and Sectoral Policies"

Capacity Building

A Biodiversity Planning Support Programme (BPSP) has been established by UNDP and UNEP, with financial support from the GEF. The BPSP seeks to respond to the needs of Parties to strengthen national capacity to prepare and implement National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in compliance with Article 6 of the Convention. As a result of a joint effort between the BPSP, l'Institut de l'énergie et de l'environnement de la Francophonie and the Quebec Environment Ministry, NBSAP Guidelines were published in 2000.

The Capacity Development Initiative(CDI) is a strategic partnership between the United Nations Development Programme and the GEF Secretariat to produce a comprehensive approach for developing country-level capacities needed for addressing challenges of global environmental action in areas of biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation.

The Biodiversity Service established by a consortium of agencies seeks to promote and facilitate implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in CEE/NIS countries by providing assistance with implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans.