21 June 2011: The Regional Workshop for Central Africa on Updating National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), held in Brazzaville, Congo, from 19-23 June 2011, aimed to strengthen national capacities for the development, implementation, reviewing, updating and communication of NBSAPs.

Organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Forest Economy and the Environment of the Republic of the Congo, and with the financial support of the Government of Japan, the workshop further aimed to help facilitate national implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and translate its targets into national targets and commitments. Specifically, the workshop, which included participation of all nine countries of Central Africa, reviewed the findings of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook and the outcomes of the tenth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties.

Participants discussed the review and updating of NBSAPs with a focus on lessons learned and next steps. A major focus of the workshop is also setting national and regional targets in the framework of the Strategic Plan, including integrating biodiversity into relevant national and local planning processes; and resource mobilization for NBSAP implementation. [CBD Communiqué]