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Countries that are parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are required to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans. The strategies and plans will help in the attainment of the Convention’s goal on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of its benefits.

Held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the workshop enabled Asian countries to exchange experiences and lessons learned, and identify ways and means of overcoming challenges in the development and implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
Regional Workshop for South, Southeast and East Asia on Capacity Building for National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans

Policy makers and experts on biodiversity from 23 Asian countries and various international organizations met in Singapore from January 14 - 18, 2008 to review progress in the development, implementation and updating of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The Regional Workshop for South, Southeast and East Asia on Capacity Building for NBSAPs was organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), in cooperation with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the National Parks Board of Singapore (NParks). In his opening remarks, ACB Executive Director Rodrigo U. Fuentes challenged the participants to sustain their enthusiasm in implementing national biodiversity action plans and mainstream biodiversity to promote poverty reduction.

SCBD Executive Secretary Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf stressed that national biodiversity plans and strategies must be used as tools to ensure that biodiversity is integrated into decision making across all departments of government and all sectors of society and the economy.

NParks Chief Executive Officer Ng Lang shared with the participants how Singapore, despite its small size, manages to integrate biodiversity conservation into economic development efforts.
During the workshop, the participants discussed tools and approaches for the effective integration of biodiversity planning across economic development sectors; developed strategies in communicating and reporting NBSAPs; and exchanged experiences on efforts to reduce loss of biodiversity.

The Asian regional workshop is part of a series of regional and sub-regional capacity-building workshops scheduled for 2008 to strengthen national capacity for the development, implementation, review and update of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, and cross-sectoral strategies such as poverty eradication strategies.