Over 140 eligible Parties have been assisted with the development of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans through biodiversity enabling activity funding. In addition, some developing country Parties are developing their NBSAPs with assistance from other sources, or without external assistance, and developed country Parties have developed NBSAPs or have adapted existing strategies.

Accordingly, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides funding for enabling activities. The GEF Operational Strategy defines enabling activities in biodiversity as:

"Activities that prepare the foundation to design and implement effective response measures to achieve Convention objectives. They will assist recipient countries to develop national strategies, plans or programs referred to in Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and to identify components of biodiversity together with processes and activities likely to have significant adverse impacts on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity pursuant to Article 7 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They will normally involve the review and assessment of information and will assist a recipient country to gain a better understanding of the nature and scope of its biodiversity assets and issues as well as a clearer sense of the options for the sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity. Enabling activities include supporting country-driven activities for taking stock of or inventorying biodiversity based on national programs and relying on studies, without new primary research; identifying options and establishing priorities to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity; preparing and developing biodiversity planning exercises, such as national strategies, action plans and sectoral plans; and disseminating of information through national communications to the Convention on Biological Diversity."

In response to the emphasis that the COP placed on capacity-building needs and identifying those needs, the GEF Council revised the operational criteria at its 13th meeting (see Guidelines for Additional Funding of Biodiversity Enabling Activities (Expedited Procedures) issued in February 2000). These were revised again in October 2000 in the light of guidance from COP 5 (see Revised Guidelines for Additional Funding of Biodiversity Enabling Activities (Expedited Procedures), in particular, to support the production of the second national report of Parties.