9 May 2011: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is convening a capacity-building workshop for East, South and Southeast Asia on updating national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), from 9-16 May 2011, in Xi’an, China.

The workshop was organized by the CBD Secretariat with the assistance of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, Shaanxi Province, the City of Xi’an and the Executive Committee for the 2011 Xi’an International Horticultural Expo, and thanks to the financial assistance of the Government of Japan through its Japan Biodiversity Fund. The meeting is bringing together participants from 21 Asian countries to address a series of NBSAP-related issues, including: lessons learned and next steps in their review and updating; setting national targets in the framework of the Strategic Plan for biodiversity 2011-2020; integrating biodiversity into relevant national and local planning processes; stakeholder engagement and strategic communication; and resource mobilization for NBSAP implementation.

In cooperation with IUCN, the workshop will also provide training on how the economic value of biodiversity and ecosystem services can be used to communicate and mainstream biodiversity conservation to economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, mining, transport and energy.

The Xi’an meeting is the latest in a series of CBD regional and subregional capacity-building workshops to strengthen national capacities for the development, implementation, reviewing, updating and communication of NBSAPs. [CBD Press Release][Statement by CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf]