The Strengthening national capacities for biodiversity monitoring, within the framework of the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy of ECUADOR pilot project was executed between October 2015 and June 2018 by implementing partner the Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN), in coordination with the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador and the National Institute of Biodiversity of Ecuador (INABIO). The focus of the project was centered around developing a monitoring plan for the Ecuadorian National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP), identifying nationally available spatial and socio-economic data to support monitoring, demonstrating the contribution of conservation/sustainable use to human well-being, and developing inputs for the revision of the National Development Plan (Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir). Mainstreaming was fully integrated in the project activities and nationally available data was used for the implementation of the project.

The following are the key outcomes of the project:

• Methodological tools and information that support monitoring of biodiversity in Ecuador were generated.
• Priorities and lines of action for the establishment of a Biodiversity Monitoring System in Ecuador were identified.
• Information that strengthens the management of mangroves in the Gulf of Guayaquil and in the country was generated and disseminated.
• Lessons learned were identified and recommendations for future processes of formulation and updating of biodiversity management instruments were made.

On a broader level, work on mangroves and on targets and indicators for the NBSAP were fed into the process of updating the national development plan, which took place during July-August 2017 (Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2017-2021 Toda una Vida) and is a principal mainstreaming outcome.

The results and outcomes of the process documentation component of the project will likely materialize in the coming years as Ecuador implements its NBSAP, reports on achievements, reflects on (and potentially modifies) its institutional mechanisms and procedures for biodiversity planning, and devises new strategies to implement the Convention.