What are NBSAPs?

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) are the main instrument for implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

In CBD decision 15/6, Parties are requested to submit revised or updated NBSAPs, including national targets, by the Sixteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) in 2024 aligned with the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

Also, decision 15/6 and its Annex, encourage CBD Parties to include actions to implement commitments and recommendations under the various Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs), as relevant for each country, in NBSAPs and to facilitate engagement with and coordination among focal points. CBD decision 15/13 further encourages CBD Parties to implement CBD and other MEAs in a complementary manner, including in reviewing and updating their NBSAPs for the effective implementation of the KMGBF.

This has been called for in numerous COP decisions of CBD, CMS and other MEAs and is the most effective means to ensure better coordination of implementation efforts of the various biodiversity MEAs at the national level.

Cooperation in MEA implementation for the efficient and effective delivery of both the KMGBF has been the focus of the Bern process as per CBD decision 15/13. Among others, the Bern process (outcome of Bern III Conference) recognized that the development and implementation of NBSAPs are key aspects of synergies at the national and international levels, and that the plans for achieving the targets of the KMGBF should include mutually beneficial actions.

Migratory Species in NBSAPs

CMS COP14 (February 2024, Samarkand) underscored the need to integrate migratory species’ needs and considerations in the revision of their NBSAPs and national targets in line with the KMGBF (Decision 14.6 CMS Engagement in CBD Processes Including Global Biodiversity Framework) and to ensure linkages between NBSAPs and the Samarkand Strategic Plan for Migratory Species (SPMS) 2024-2032 (Decision 14.1 Samarkand Strategic Plan for Migratory Species).

To this end, Resolution 11.10 (Rev.COP14) and Resolution 14.3 urge CMS Parties to establish close collaboration between the focal points of the CMS and those of other relevant conventions to develop coherent and synergistic approaches across the conventions at the national level and especially with the focal points of CBD to ensure that actions to conserve migratory species are reflected when revising their NBSAPs.

Resolution 11.10 (Rev.COP14) further requests the Secretariat to take action to support this process, including through the production of dedicated guidelines (Decision 14.6).

Guidance for integrating considerations relevant to Migratory Species in NBSAPs

  • General Guidance on migratory species

A general guidance and a list of categories of information on migratory species to be considered in the development of NBSAPs were developed by the CMS Secretariat and are contained in Annexes I and II to Resolution 8.18 (Rev. COP12). While they predate the adoption of the KMGBF, they are still relevant for the current revision of NBSAPs.

  • State of the World’s Migratory Species report

The first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report, which was launched by the CMS Secretariat in 2024, provides a global overview of the conservation status and population trends of migratory animals, combined with the latest information on their main threats and successful actions to save them. It also outlines a set of priority recommendations for action that contribute to the implementation of the KMGBF and would support the revision of NBSAPs.

  • Guidance on Ecological Connectivity

In accordance with Decision 14.194, this guidance supports the integration of ecological connectivity into NBSAPs by providing practical approaches, actions and tools to assist countries with effectively addressing ecological connectivity in connection to goals and targets of the KMGBF, including those related to means of implementation at the national level.

It was developed by the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) in cooperation with the Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group (TCSG) of the International Union for Conservation Nature World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN WCPA).

  • Guidance on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wildlife

This guidance was developed by the CMS Secretariat in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a contribution to the Work Plan 2023-2025 of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW), in which both are members. It focuses on the need to consider work under CMS and CITES when developing NBSAP actions related to the three species-related targets of the KMGBF.

Additional information for implementing KMGBF through NBSAPs

  • Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs)

In accordance with Resolution 14.7 (Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs)) Decision 14.61 b), and as per Notification 2024/011, a global eAtlas on Important Shark and Ray Areas, which has been published by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, aims to support Parties in taking into account identified ISRAs when designating marine protected areas, or generally for marine spatial planning processes with a view to implementing Targets 1 and 3 of the KMGBF, including through NBSAPs, to support the conservation of CMS-listed sharks and rays.

  • Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs)

In accordance with Resolution 12.13 (Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs)) and Decision 14.57 a), Parties are encouraged to utilize the identified IMMAs, available on the IUCN Joint Species Survival Commission/World Commission on Protected Areas (SSC/WCPA) Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force website (www.marinemammalhabitat.org). This resource supports identifying habitats at risk, designing threat mitigation measures, designating marine protected areas, and for general marine spatial planning purposes. By adopting this approach, the marine mammals listed in CMS Appendices will benefit from the implementation of Targets 1 and 3 of the KMGBF, including through NBSAPs.

  • Reducing the risk through vessel strikes for marine megafauna

In accordance with Decision 14.48 b) and c) Parties are encouraged to apply the recommendations and maps provided in the CMS report Limiting Global Ship Strike on Whale Sharks - Understanding an increasing threat to the world’s largest fish and to collaborate with other Range States on the implementation of the Guidance on Reducing the Risk of Vessel Strikes for Whale Sharks, annexed to Resolution 14.25 (Reducing the risk of vessel strikes for marine megafauna). Proposed area-based measures, such as rerouting or reducing the maximum speed of vessels in high-collision risk areas, will contribute to the implementation of Targets 1 and 3 of the KMGBF.

  • Marine Turtles

The TurtleNet - Marine Turtle Breeding and Migration Atlas - is an interactive atlas that brings together decades of global data and shows nesting, courtship, feeding and migration routes of marine turtles has been launched. It was developed by Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science (DES) in collaboration with CMS Secretariat.

  • African-Eurasian Birds

The Eurasian-African Bird Migration Atlas presents an interactive migration maps for 300 species together with full results of the four research modules. It was funded by the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea of the Government of Italy and developed by the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING) in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the CMS Secretariat.

  • African-Eurasian Vultures

In accordance with Decision 14.148 e), Parties are encouraged to integrate the findings of the Mid-term Implementation Review of the African-Eurasian Vulture Multi-species Action Plan (Vulture MsAP) in the revision of NBSAPs to support the national implementation of the Vulture MsAP.

  • Ungulates (Hooved animals)

The Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration provides detailed maps of the seasonal movements of herds worldwide and will help governments, indigenous people and local communities, planners, and wildlife managers to identify current and future threats to migrations, and advance conservation measures to sustain them in the face of an expanding human footprint. It was created by the CMS Secretariat in partnership with an international team of scientists and conservationists.

  • Central Asian Mammals

The Central Asian Mammals Migration and Linear Infrastructure Atlas was developed, with funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU) and the Swiss Government and under the lead of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

It maps the distribution and movement corridors of migratory mammals, and threats from linear infrastructure, such as railways, roads, pipelines, and border fences, across the entire Central Asian region. It features the distribution of ten of the most affected species in ten countries as well as constructed and planned infrastructure. The atlas is currently being updated and is expected be launched in 2024 as an online, interactive web tool to facilitate greater accessibility and usability for stakeholders and will partially integrate data on climate change effects on certain migratory species in the region.

Further information on NBSAPs

NBSAPs Forum provides support for action and implementation on NBSAPs.