July 2018: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) has launched a publication that provides an overview of current thinking and country experiences using legal frameworks to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the national level, through National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

The publication titled, ‘Law and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans,’ provides options for enhancing legal preparedness in revising and implementing NBSAPs and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, and in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Nearly all countries have reported a continued decline in biodiversity.

The NBSAPs represent the key policy-cum-strategy document for the realization of the CBD objectives of by many of the Convention’s parties: conserving biological diversity; using it sustainably; and sharing, fairly and equitably, the benefits arising from using genetic resources. As of March 2018, out of the 196 Parties to CBD, 190 had submitted their NBSAPs and 191 had provided their fifth national reports, outlining the ways in which the strategies had been implemented. Nearly all countries have reported a continued decline in biodiversity.

By the publication, while countries continue to establish legislation and legal frameworks to implement NBSAPs and address biodiversity issues, much of the experience is based on the use of national sectoral policies and legislation related to biodiversity. The report notes the need to analyze: the legal components of the present NBSAPs; the role of legal preparedness in the implementation of NBSAPs focusing on biodiversity; and ecosystems as an overarching theme, rather than as a sectoral issue.

The report makes a case for replacing narrow sectoral perspectives with a broader cross-sectoral focus on biodiversity and ecosystems, and widening the scope of NBSAPs to include the concept of sustainable development. [Publication: Law and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans]