March 2013: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has made available the report of the first workshop for African Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the “preparation of the Fifth National Report and Global Biodiversity Outlook and regional scenarios,” which was held from 28 January – 1 February 2013, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Co-hosted by the CBD Secretariat and the UN Environment Programme Regional Office for Africa (UNEP ROA) and jointly organized with the Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency (PBL), the workshop was the first of a series convened to strengthen the capacities of countries to prepare their fifth national reports and to facilitate the submission of the reports by the 31 March 2014 deadline.

In addition to plenary sessions on the first and last days, the workshop was organized in two parallel streams, one focusing on the preparation of the fifth national reports, and the other focusing on the development and use of models and scenarios as tools to support policy analysis, planning and decision making. The workshop format featured a mix of presentations with question-and-answer sessions, discussions and exercises and small working groups, as well as individual exercises.

In addition, participants exchanged experiences and discussed lessons learned from the preparation of the fourth national report. They also heard an update on the status of revision and development of national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs); they discussed the use of indicators as they relate to monitoring changes in biodiversity, assessment and reporting; and were informed of the production plan for the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4).

Participants identified a number of key messages, focusing on, among others: the importance of using consultative or stakeholder groups in the development of the fifth national report; the need to develop a forward-looking plan and resource strategy to ensure timely submission of the fifth national report; the importance of working with different sectors of government, NGOs, educational institutions and private sector entities to bring together biodiversity information; the promotion of synergies between different multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); preference on using already available indicators; and, with regard to reporting, focusing on the results of the actions taken rather than just listing the actions. [Publication: Report of the First Workshop for African Least Developed Countries on the Preparation of the Fifth National Report and Global Biodiversity Outlook and Regional Scenarios]