Reporting Linkages Among Biodiversityrelated Conventions

1
Reporting Linkages Among Biodiversity-related
Conventions

• UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre

2
National reporting information

• Conventions need well-organised and reliable
  information on implementation
• Information enables decision-making
• Reporting fulfils the basic information needs of
  conventions

3
National reporting the problem for governments

• The burden of producing a range of reports
• Lack of national coordination
• Overlap and duplication of work between different
  reports
• Scarce resources, especially in developing
  countries

4
National reporting

• Each Contracting Party shall present to the
  Conference of the Parties reports on measures
  which it has taken for the implementation of the
  provisions of this Convention and their
  effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the
  Convention.
• 
  CBD article 26

5

• The Five Global Biodiversity-Related Conventions

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
World Heritage Convention (WHC)
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
6
Existing reporting linkages between
biodiversity-related conventions CBD and CMS

• CBD COP 6, decision VI/20 On cooperation with
  Convention on Migratory Species
• The COP urges Parties to report through their
  national reports on the extent to which they
  address migratory species at the national level,
  and on their cooperation with other range states.

7
Existing reporting linkages between
biodiversity-related conventions CBD and Ramsar

• 3rd joint work plan of Ramsar Convention and CBD
  (2002)
• the Ramsar Bureau will contribute to the CBD
  work and liaison group on national reporting and
  report formats so as to identify appropriate
  themes and topics for collaborative reporting,
• The CBD Secretariat and Ramsar Bureau will seek
  ways of sharing experience and approaches to the
  handling and analysis of National Reports, and
  make available analyses, as appropriate, to
  support the work of the Conventions and their
  subsidiary bodies.

8
Harmonization of reporting information
management

• UNEP 5 conventions Feasibility Study (1998) on
  harmonization of information management
• Oct 2000 Workshop in Cambridge, UK
• 2001-2003 Pilot projects in 4 countries

9
Pilot projects

• Ghana Linking national reporting to reporting on
  State of the Environment (SoE)
• Indonesia Modular reporting
• Panama Regional support to national information
  management reporting
• Seychelles Consolidated reporting

10
Ghana Linking national reporting to SoE
reporting - the model

• Handling of data on biodiversity by Biodiversity
  Commission
• Preparation of national reports to conventions
• Submitting of datasets to Environmental
  Protection Agency (EPA)
• EPA to use for SoE report

11
Indonesia Modular reporting
12
Panama Regional support to information
management and national reporting

• A (sub)regional institution (e.g. UNEP-ROLAC,
  CCAD) could assist governments with information
  management and reporting providing, amongst
  others
• information
• IT support
• meeting arrangements.

13
Seychelles Consolidated reporting

• National Agency A National Agency B National
  Agency C
• National Biodiversity Commission

One national report
Convention A
Convention B
Convention C
14
Seychelles Consolidated reporting

• Prepare one consolidated report that satisfies
  the obligations of a range of conventions
• Justification A range of issues common to all
  conventions (international cooperation,
  identification monitoring, in situ and ex situ
  conservation, sustainable use, etc)

15
Problems for harmonization, as identified by
pilot projects

• International
• Different reporting cycles between conventions
• Different reporting formats
• National
• Lack of national capacity and resources
• Many different national biodiversity databases
• Lack of national coordination

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Recommendations from the pilot projects
international

• Harmonize reporting formats between conventions -
  take CBD as a start
• Better synchronise reporting cycles between
  conventions
• Develop a Biodiversity Reporting Manual
• Develop (sub)regional support to national
  reporting

17
Recommendations from the pilot projects
international (cont)

• Share terminologies (glossaries, definitions,
  abbreviations, taxonomy) between conventions
• Develop/improve joint websites of conventions
• Further test the different approaches to
  harmonized reporting
• Provide resources

18
Recommendations from the pilot projects national

• Review institutional/administrative arrangements
  for conventions/SoE responsibilities
• Establish a national coordination mechanism
• Establish a national biodiversity
  database/clearing-house mechanism

19
Recommendations from the pilot projects national
(cont)

• Establish on-line reporting
• Develop information modules useful for more than
  one convention SoE
• Provide an operational framework for stakeholder
  involvement

20
What for the Rio Conventions?Mandate for
harmonization of reporting

• World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of
  Implementation, para 42c Encourage effective
  synergies between the Convention on Biological
  Diversity and other multilateral environmental
  agreements, inter alia, through the development
  of joint plans and programmes
• UNCCD Explanatory Note and Help Guide for
  affected country Parties ICCD/CRIC(3)/INF.3,
  para 30 Experience gained during the
  preparation of similar reports under the
  conventions on climate change and biodiversity
  can also be used to promote synergism.

21
What for the Rio Conventions? (cont)

• Some overlap between CBD and UNCCD
• biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands
• agricultural biodiversity
• protected areas
• UNFCCC potentially rather separate
• Reporting focus on greenhouse gas emissions

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Starting point

• Element C1 of joint work programme between CBD
  and UNCCD
• The two secretariats will seek to identify
  harmonized formats of reporting in compliance
  with their respective obligations in line with
  the programme of work under the CBD on the
  biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands, as well
  as the ongoing work to harmonize reporting under
  the CBD with that of other biodiversity-related
  conventions.

23
Potential approach

• Identify themes common to UNCCD and CBD, as in
  the joint work programme
• Develop joint questions for reports
• Explore extension to UNFCCC
• Discuss in the Joint Liaison Group of the Rio
  Conventions

24
Potential approach (cont)

• Test in a small number of developing countries,
  with a focus on
• joint information management
• demonstration sites
• Link to the process under the biodiversity-related
  conventions, building on Memoranda of
  Understanding between UNCCD CMS, UNCCD Ramsar