NBSAP Research

TOPACTIVITIESNBSAP Research

Introduction

Since 2016, the IPSI Secretariat at UNU-IAS has been spearheading a series of IPSI Collaborative Activities consisting of research on the relevance and applicability of landscape approaches for National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), a major component of the implementation framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The research project aims to re-conceptualize landscape approaches in the context of the CBD and analyze and validate their applicability for development as well as implementation of NBSAPs. The research is carried out by the IPSI Secretariat at UNU-IAS along with IPSI members the University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives (UT-IFI), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Please see below for more information on past and current phases of the research, as well as available resources.

Background

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) are the main instruments for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). They offer a roadmap to each Party for integrating biodiversity considerations into national decision-making and also for mainstreaming issues across all sectors with the goal of fulfilling the objectives of the Convention. Through the NBSAP process, many contracting Parties expressed the need to strengthen NBSAPs and enhance their accountability. An attempt to assist with implementation of the CBD, this research project aims to investigate how integrated approaches for managing production landscapes and seascapes, in particular the SEPLS concept promoted through IPSI, can effectively facilitate NBSAP development and implementation.

Phase 1

The first phase of the research project, an IPSI Collaborative Activity titled “Research on development and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) toward realization of societies in harmony with nature,” was conducted during the fiscal year 2016-2017. Phase 1 research activities, which included literature reviews, analyses of NBSAPs and National Reports, and an international workshop, aimed to examine to what extent landscape approaches were incorporated into NBSAPs and how landscape approaches were implemented and contributed toward achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
The research report from phase 1 of the research is available for download here or under “Resources” below.

Phase 2

A second phase was carried out in fiscal year 2018-2019 following up on the findings from phase 1, and was endorsed as an IPSI Collaborative Activity titled “Research on mainstreaming integrated approaches in production landscapes and seascapes into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)”. Phase 2 research aimed to continuously assist Parties in deepening their understanding of landscape approaches for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and to aid them in incorporating them in NBSAP development and implementation. Research activities included two web surveys, a second international workshop, and the development of a draft manual on applying landscape approaches to NBSAP processes and two policy briefs. The manual is designed as a technical guide to help policy administrators apply landscape approaches in development and implementation of NBSAPs and other relevant strategies and policies.

Resources

“Research on development and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans toward realization of societies in harmony with nature”: The final research report from phase 1 of the project.
“Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Production landscapes: Integrated Approaches in Design and Implementation of national Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans”: The workshop report from the international workshop held as part of phase 1 of the project.