Once a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is decided upon the key challenge will be to translate the new global agenda into National Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) as key instruments to guide and facilitate implementation. The idea of this side event is to take stock of existing experiences from the first two generations of NBSAPs to identify potentials and challenges for the upcoming third generation.

The side event will start with a recap on the function of NBSAPs based on the “Assessment of post -2010 National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans: the evaluations of the first two generations of NBSAPs“, presented by Christian Prip, Fridtjof Nansen Institute.

We will then present about a comparative study that analysed the role of NBSAPs in eight countries from four different continents with differing levels of institutional and economic development: France, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Rwanda, and South Africa. Based on interviews with 181 experts it was assessed how actors perceive the relevance of the Aichi Targets and NBSAPs for national implementation, implementation progress, implementation challenges and potential for strengthening national biodiversity governance.

Additionally, we will present experiences from the current process of updating the German National strategy. Since 2019 the German Government is preparing a new version of the German National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) to respond to the EU-2030 biodiversity strategy as well as the upcoming CBD-GBF. The development process included a thorough analysis of the current NBSAP, expert interviews, workshops and participation options for a broad stakeholder community. Next to the example of Germany, the side-event will give the opportunity to discuss the findings on supporting as well as hindering factors. Representatives of the above-mentioned countries will be invited to share their experiences as well.