Bonn,
7 December 2012 - The regional workshop for Africa
on integration of CMS and CITES objectives into National
Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) took place
in Harare, Zimbabwe between 26 to 28 November. With the
support of the governments of Germany, Sweden and Japan
and organized by UNEP Division of Environment Law and Conventions and Regional Office for Africa (ROA).
Members of staff of UNEP, CBD and CMS, together with African
focal points identified and prioritized the key areas of
synergies among biodiversity-related MEAs in integrating
countries’ international obligations into revised
NBSAPs. The participants developed common best practice
guidelines with tangible targets to improve policy, legal
and administrative coordination of biodiversity-related
MEAs in the NBSAP process at national level.

Francisco Rilla from the CMS Secretariat
presented the new concept for the CMS Strategic Plan for
Migratory Species for the period 2015-2023 emphasizing the
need to reinforce the integration of migratory species into
revisions of NBSAPs. There was already guidance within the
CMS on this issue but it was important to emphasize the
urgency of the matter given that in many countries the NBSAPs
were currently being revised in light of the Aichi Biodiversity
Targets and any further delay would make it difficult to
integrate migratory issues at a later stage. CMS should
already engage actively in the UN Decade on Biodiversity
and benefit from the relevant Aichi Biodiversity Targets,
in particular Target 20 on resource mobilization which was
for biodiversity in general, including migratory species.

The workshop was a great success and helped
to identify ways to strengthen the integration of NBSAPs
that encompass the objectives of the biodiversity-related
MEAs, into national development plans and programmes.

More information can be obtained from CMS
Information and Capacity Building Office, Francisco Rilla
(frilla[at]cms.int)