Regional workshop for Pacific on updating national biodiversity strategies and action plans

Nadi, Fiji, 4 October 2011 – Biodiversity experts and officials from across the Pacific region are working towards implementing the Nagoya Biodiversity Compact at the Regional Workshop on Updating National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans being held in Nadi, Fiji, from 3 to 7 October and organized jointly with a workshop on capacity-building for the implementation of the programme of work on protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
 
The workshop, organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), with the financial support of the Government of Japan and hosted by the Government of Fiji, aims to strengthen national capacities for the development, implementation, reviewing, updating, and communication of national biodiversity strategies and action plans; help facilitate national implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020; and translate the Strategic Plan into national targets and commitments.

The workshop offers the opportunity for regional biodiversity actors to contribute to, and participate in, capacity development. Representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), SPREP, IUCN, RARE, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Island Conservation, BirdLife International and Secretariat of the Pacific Community are in attendance, together with participants from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

A celebration of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB), co-hosted by the Government of Fiji, SPREP and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, was held Monday at the same venue.

Mrs. Taina Tagicakibau, Permanent Secretary for Local Government, Housing, Urban, Development and Environment of Fiji, stated: “I would like to emphasize how much importance we place on this week’s proceedings. These capacity-building workshops are a crucial step toward securing the long-term viability of the biological resources of the South Pacific.” She added that biodiversity must be mainstreamed throughout government and all sectors of society through communication, education and appropriate incentive measures.

On behalf of the President of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, H.E. Mr. Yutaka Yoshizawa, Ambassador of Japan to Fiji, reiterated Japan’s support to developing country Parties to the Convention, especially in implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. He also emphasized the importance of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Mr. Atsuhiro Yoshinaka, Global Coordinator at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, delivered a statement on behalf of Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention, saying that the Secretariat was committed to continuous efforts to assist Parties to ensure the timely delivery of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 at the national and regional levels.