From 2 to 4 December 2008 SCBD and Japan co-organized a regional workshop for East, South and Southeast Asia on the fourth national report. The workshop generated some useful recommendations for preparing the fourth national report. In the following I would like to share some general recommendations (concerning the preparatory process and the whole report). Later on I would present specific ones for individual chapters or appendices. Hope you find these recommendations useful and we certainly welcome your further suggestions.

1. Process of preparation of the fourth national report

It is important to involve relevant stakeholders in the process, including civil society and local communities. The process of preparing the report should be considered as a process of mobilizing public support for and public participation in the implementation of the Convention. Various means could be employed to engage various stakeholders, including using internet to solicit public comments on the draft report and holding consultations or workshops at various levels. It is also important to create a sense of ownership of this important report by relevant stakeholders by involving them in various stages of the process.

Preparing the report initially in the national or local languages rather than the official UN languages may be easy to get involved relevant stakeholders at various levels, however, there is a concern over the cost and quality of translation.

It is recommended that bodies such as coordination committees or working groups could be established to coordinate the preparation of the report and address the challenges encountered in preparing the report.

It is also recommended that plan or schedule of activities or a checklist of milestones be developed to ensure that the report could be finalized, approved and submitted in time.

2. Overall recommendations for the whole report

The workshop noted strategic importance of the report and that preparing the report is not an end in itself. The process and the report should help promote implementation at national level as well as provide critical information for assessing progress towards the 2010 target and a basis for updating the Strategic Plan  of the Convention and developing a post-2010 biodiversity target.

Chapters should have a solid evidence base, using indicators (where available), focusing on concrete actions and outcomes, and highlighting case studies or successful stories etc. However, they must be analytical, going beyond lists of policies and actions.

Before and while preparing the report, countries should read the guidelines for the fourth national report carefully. They are useful (including guidance on what to report on, and what not to report on). But use them flexibly, according to countries’ needs.

Advance sample chapters prepared by countries are useful and should be used in a way appropriate to national circumstances.

Use of graphs, charts, photos etc is recommended to maximize appeal of the report.