Financial Mechanism and Resources

National biodiversity planning: How to Use GEF Funding

This page aims to provide information regarding revision and updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, for recipient Parties and relevant stakeholders, including how to access funding of the Global Environment Facility in this regard. It is a work in progress and will be updated as necessary.

COP Guidance to Global Environment Facility

The financial mechanism was requested to support national planning:

• The four-year outcome-oriented framework of programme priorities for the period 2022–2026 consists of the following elements to which effective implementation support is to be provided: National biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs); (15/15, annex I, para. 4(b))
• Make funds available in a timely and expeditious manner to all eligible countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, to support the updating or revision of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and to support the preparation of national reports, so that Parties may begin implementation as soon as possible after the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/15, annex IIB, para. 1)
• Support the development and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans or similar planning instruments to support efforts by recipient countries to mobilize domestic and international resources to reach their national goals, as defined in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and to contribute to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/7, para. 26)

Financial support of the Global Environment Facility

GEF-supported national biodiversity strategies and action plans

GEF-8 biodiversity focal area strategies
Enabling Activities
“426. Support will be quickly and efficiently provided to all GEF-eligible countries at the start of GEF-8 to revise their NBSAP(consistent with forthcoming COP guidance) with a view to align them with the GBF and to ensure that national policies are also aligned with the GBF. Support will be provided to produce the National Report to the CBD as well as national reporting obligations under the Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol identified during upcoming COPs and COP-MOPs. “

COP Guidance to Parties

Planning, monitoring, reporting and review

• When developing, updating or revising their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, take into account the lessons from the review of progress towards the implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 at national and global level, as well as information contained in the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, the second edition of the Local Biodiversity Outlooks and the review of implementation of the 2015–2020 Gender Plan of Action, as appropriate and in accordance with national priorities and circumstances; (15/3, para. 9)
• Revise and update their national biodiversity strategies and action plans in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention, following the guidance provided in annex I, aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its goals and targets, including those related to means of implementation, and to submit them through the clearing house mechanism by the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties; (15/6, para. 6)
• Communicate national targets reflecting, as applicable, all the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including those related to all means of implementation in accordance with the reporting template provided in annex I as a standalone submission by the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in advance of the full submission of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan; (15/6, para. 7)
• Use the headline indicators, supplemented by component and complementary indicators and other national indicators in relevant national planning processes, including national biodiversity strategies and action plans, according to their national circumstances; (15/6, para. 8)
• Adopt the revised or updated NBSAPs as policy and/or legal instruments and to mainstream them (or elements thereof) with broader strategies and plans, such as national sustainable development plans, national development plans, poverty reduction strategies and other relevant national sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, in line with national circumstances and priorities. (15/6, para. 9)
• Take the outcome of the global reviews into account in future revisions and implementation of their national biodiversity strategy and action plan, including the provision of means of implementation to developing country Parties, with a view to improve actions and efforts, as appropriate; (15/6, para. 20)
• Include in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national reports, relevant actions to implement commitments and recommendations under each of the biodiversity-related multilateral environmental agreements to which they are a Party; (15/6, para. 23(a))
• Enable the full and effective participation and engagement of women, indigenous peoples and local communities, youth, civil society organizations, academia, the private sector, all levels of government and stakeholders from all other relevant sectors, in all levels of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan development and implementation, as well as the preparation of seventh and eighth national reports; (15/6, para. 23(c))
• Further ensure consultations in order to obtain the prior and informed consent, free, prior and informed consent or approval and involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities, as appropriate and applicable, in their engagement and participation in national biodiversity strategy and action plan development and national targets and related to measures that may affect them. (15/6, para. 23(d))

Resource Mobilization

• Develop, update, and implement national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments, based on an assessment of biodiversity expenditures and finance needs, and based on national biodiversity strategies and action plans, to support adequate and timely mobilization of international and domestic, public and private financial resources for the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/7, para. 22)
• Provide information in their national biodiversity finance plans, on financial, technology development and transfer, and capacity-building support needed, received, and used, to implement their national biodiversity strategies and action plans; (15/7, para. 24)

Capacity-building and development and technical and scientific cooperation

• Identify and prioritize capacity-building and development needs, in partnership with indigenous peoples and local communities, and with the participation of women and youth and other relevant stakeholders, to integrate capacity-building and development components in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans while updating them in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and/or develop dedicated biodiversity capacity building and development action plans, and programmes, as appropriate; (15/8, para. 9)
• Apply the following overarching guiding principles, in support of priorities for capacity building and development determined by Parties in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, which, if applied, would contribute to more effective and sustainable capacities to support the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: (a) Inclusive analysis of existing capacities and needs is essential to ensure effective interventions; (b) Country ownership and commitment should be cornerstones for capacity building and development actions; (c) Strategic and integrated system-wide approaches to capacity building and development should be promoted; (d) Interventions should be designed and implemented according to recognized good practice and lessons learned; (e) Indigenous peoples and local communities, gender and youth perspectives should be fully integrated into biodiversity capacity building and development efforts, taking into account the Gender Plan of Action; (f) Monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks should be incorporated into capacity building and development strategies, plans and programmes from the start. (15/8, annex I, para. 8)
• Integrate long-term capacity building and development into national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Integrate capacity building and development components into national biodiversity strategies and action plans and similar strategic documents or develop dedicated national capacity building and development action plans, as appropriate, to identify the core capacity building and development needs, goals, targets and milestones and foster their alignment with the strategic framework, alongside initiatives on related Sustainable Development Goals. This would help ensure that capacity building and development for biodiversity is planned strategically and streamlined into national development investments and budgeting processes. It is encouraged to include plans on youth engagement and capacity building and development, and to integrate intergenerational initiatives in these documents; (15/8, annex I, para. 9(b))

Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities

• Increase efforts to facilitate the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities as on-the-ground partners in the implementation of the Convention, including by recognizing, supporting and valuing their customary laws, collective actions, cosmocentric worldviews and diverse values, including the efforts of indigenous peoples and local communities to protect and conserve lands and waters that they traditionally occupy or use towards the goals of the Convention, and engaging them, as appropriate, in the preparation of national reports, in the revision and implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and in the process for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/10, para. 3)

Gender

• Incorporate the Gender Plan of Action in national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and to include gender specific indicators in the development of national indicators, collecting data disaggregated by sex, age and other demographic factors and gender indicators, where possible; (15/11, para. 4)
• Integrate human rights and gender equality considerations into national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) (15/11, annex, para. 2.3)

Subnational governments, cities and other local authorities

• Involving subnational governments, cities and other local authorities in the revision, implementation and update of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, respecting the competencies of each level of government; (15/12, para. 2(a))
• Supporting subnational governments, cities and other local authorities to develop, implement and evaluate their local biodiversity strategies and action plans, in accordance with national biodiversity strategies and action plans and global commitments; (15/12, para. 2(b))
• Increase the engagement of subnational governments, cities and other local authorities, to support the successful implementation of, and reporting on, national biodiversity strategies and action plans, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the programmes of work under the Convention on Biological Diversity; (15/12, annex, para. 2(a))

Cooperation

• Implement the Convention and other biodiversity-related conventions and multilateral agreements to which they are party, in a complementary manner, including in reviewing and updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, in order to enable the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/13, para. 11)

Communication

• Integrate communications components into their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) while updating them in line with the Framework, or to develop national or regional communications strategies that support the goals. (15/14, annex, para. 13)

Invasive alien species

• Coordinated national, subnational and local response strategies should be developed to minimize incursions and impacts of invasive alien species, such as national, subnational and local invasive species strategies and action plans as a part of national, subnational and local biodiversity strategies and action plans. This could include strengthening and coordinating existing programmes, identifying and filling gaps with new initiatives, and building on the strengths and capacities of partner organizations, including academia and scientific institutions, indigenous peoples and local communities and women and youth at the national, regional and local levels. (15/27, annex I, para. 8.)

Biodiversity and agriculture

• Support the implementation of, and capacity-building and development for, the Plan of Action (2020–2030) for the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Soil Biodiversity through, among other things, the integration of appropriate measures into national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national reports, sustainable soil management and relevant agricultural policies, plans, legislation, standards, programmes and practices, in accordance with national priorities and circumstances; (15/28, para. 3)
• Include soil biodiversity in national reports and national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and coordinate at the national and subnational levels, in order to increase and improve public and private actions that improve soil biodiversity; (15/28, annex, para. 1.11)

Biodiversity and health

• Further integrate the One Health approach, among other holistic approaches, in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and national health plans, as appropriate, to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; (15/29, para. 1(b))

Links to national planning

• EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives, Brussels, 20.5.2020, COM(2020) 380 final