Draft Resource Manual for the Sixth National Report

UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/INF/68

UNEP/CBD/SBI/1/INF/45

Page 53

DRAFT RESOURCE MANUAL FOR THE SIXTH NATIONAL REPORT

Note by the Executive Secretary

I.  Background

1.  Parties are required by Article 26 of the Convention to submit national reports to the Conference of the Parties on measures taken for the implementation of the Convention and their effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the Convention. The deadline for the sixth national reports is anticipated to be 31 March 2019. However, to facilitate the assessment of information contained in the sixth national reports Parties are encouraged to submit their reports as early as possible.

2.  The following note contains a draft resource manual (annex) to support Parties in the preparation of their sixth national reports. The content and format of the manual will be revised to reflect the final reporting guidelines adopted at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and based on comments made during the twentieth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, the first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The resource manual will be made available in the six languages of the United Nations. Some elements of the manual will also be integrated directly into the online reporting tool.

Annex

DRAFT RESOURCE MANUAL FOR THE SIXTH NATIONAL REPORT

I.  Introduction

3.  This reference manual has been prepared to assist the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in preparing their sixth national reports, as per COP Decision XIII/X[1] and in accordance with Article 26 of the Convention. This reference manual does not replace the guidelines for the sixth national report but rather is intended to support Parties in completing their sixth national reports by the reporting deadline by providing further clarity on what types of information Parties may wish to include in their sixth national report and on what existing resources and sources of information they may wish to draw upon.

4.  In addition to general guidance on issues related to national reporting, the resource manual also provides a set of annotations to the reporting templates. These annotations are currently presented in the reporting templates in italicised text and grey background. In the online reporting tool these annotations will be directly integrated into the reporting templates to facilitate the reporting process. The annotations provide guidance on the types of information requested. The annotations recall previous COP and SBSTTA reporting requests. They also provide guiding questions which Parties may wish to consider when preparing their sixth national reports. These questions are not intended to be prescriptive or limiting but rather identify the types of issues that Parties may wish to address in their sixth national reports. In addition possible indicators have been included. The indicators included in the annotations are drawn from the list of indicators identified by the Conference of the Parties in decision XIII/X[2]. Further only those indicators that are currently available and can be disaggregated to the national level or are based on national level information have been included. However as the indicators identified by COP are of a global nature more relevant national indicators may exist. For example a number of Parties have included indicators in their revised or updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Where this is the case Parties should feel free to make use of these indicators.

II.  Structure and format of the report

5.  The sixth national report contains six sections or modules covering:

(a)  Information on the targets being pursued at the national level;

(b)  Implementation measures taken, assessment of their effectiveness, and scientific and technical needs;

(c)  Assessments of progress towards each national target;

(d)  Assessments of the national contribution to the achievement of each Aichi Biodiversity Target;

(e)  Assessments of the national contribution to the achievement of each target of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation;

(f)  Updated biodiversity country profiles.

6.  To facilitate the preparation of the sixth national report, each section of the report is accompanied by a template that contains specific questions with a selection of possible answers. Space to provide narrative information to further substantiate the information reported is also provided. In addition, space is provided to include hyperlinks to other relevant sources of information, eliminating the need to include this information directly in the national report.

III.  Initiating the reporting process

7.  Countries are encouraged to initiate the process to prepare the sixth national report as early as possible to ensure its submission by 31 March 2019 and preferably before the end of 2018. In preparing the sixth national report Parties are encouraged to make use of the online reporting tool[3]. However Parties may also submit their sixth national report in document format by making use of the reporting templates.

8.  Prior to starting to prepare the sixth national report Parties may wish to plan out the preparatory process that will be followed. Generally the preparation of the sixth national report would be overseen or led by the national focal point for the Convention on Biological Diversity. Further countries may wish to consider making use of or establishing coordinating or working bodies to direct the preparation of the report. If you are preparing your national report through the online reporting system multiple authorized users can be granted access to the tool. The tool allows for multiple national authorized users to work on the report.

9.  In preparing the sixth national reports Parties are encouraged to involve relevant stakeholders. This will help to ensure the preparation of a comprehensive report as well as help to create ownership of the report’s conclusions. Relevant stakeholders will vary between countries but could include representatives from government ministries, representatives of indigenous peoples and local community organizations, research and academic bodies, the private sector, bodies representing the agricultural, forestry, fishery, tourism or other sectors, environmental management bodies, non-governmental organizations, women’s organizations, bodies and agencies addressing sustainable development and poverty eradication, among others. Efforts should also be directed towards involving those sectors whose activities impact directly or indirectly on biodiversity. These can include the planning, finance, transport, energy, construction, health or educational sectors, as well as many others.

10.  All the appropriate sources of information should be considered when preparing the sixth national report in order to ensure that it comprehensively reflects the national situation. Possible sources of information include country biodiversity studies or assessments, national reviews of implementation of the Convention and the national biodiversity strategies and action plans, as well as evaluations of ecosystem services and biodiversity at various levels and reports submitted to the biodiversity-related Conventions and the Rio Conventions. Examples of possible sources of information are included in the reporting templates below.

IV.  Submitting the report

11.  The sixth national report is an official document being submitted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It should comply with national procedures for such submissions. If the national report is being prepared with the use of the online reporting tool, the report may be directly submitted to the Secretariat through this system. If the national report is submitted as a PDF or similar document type, it should be accompanied by an official letter from the national focal point or a responsible senior government official. Parties not using the online reporting tool may send their sixth national report to .

V.  Content

12.  In relation to the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the information from the sixth national report will be used primarily for the final review of the implementation of the Strategic Plan for 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets to be undertaken at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in 2020, through the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook and related topical analyses. Information from the sixth national reports will also be used for the development of a follow-up to the Strategic Plan for the Convention for 2011-2020. In light of this, the information presented in the sixth national reports should focus on changes to biodiversity and actions taken since the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 was adopted with a particular emphasis on the changes which have occurred since the last national report was submitted. Given that one of the main purposes of the sixth national report is to help assess progress towards the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, there is no need to provide detailed inventories on which species or ecosystems are present in a country. The focus should be on highlighting important changes to biodiversity as they relate to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. More specifically the sixth national reports should provide information that allows for:

a.  The assessment of progress towards each national biodiversity target set in line with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020

b.  The assessment of national contribution towards the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation,

c.  The evaluation of the effectiveness of policy instruments, the identification of lessons learned, and of technical, scientific and capacity needs as well as needs for implementation support;

13.  With regards to Aichi Biodiversity Target 20, the assessment contained in the sixth national reports should complement and/or draw on the information provided through the financial reporting framework contained in annex II to decision XII/3.

1. To ensure that information provided through the sixth national report will facilitate the review of implementation by the Conference of the Parties, Parties should:
2. Describe/Analyze the actions and measures taken to implement the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for 2011-2020 and attain the Aichi Targets and relevant national targets, including the outcomes of these measures and their effectiveness.
3. Describe/Analyze any obstacles encountered in the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and relevant national targets

c.  Identify any needs for implementation support as well as needs for technical and scientific cooperation, capacity-development activities, and the further development of guidance materials;

1. In various decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as in the recommendations of its subsidiary bodies, there have been requests to address specific issues in the sixth and subsequent national reports. These various requests have been included directly in the annotations to the reporting templates where they are most relevant[4].

VI.  Making use of other relevan reporting PROCEssES

1. The majority of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are also Parties to other international Conventions, multilateral environmental agreements and/or participate in various international processes related to biodiversity. Similarly many Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity also participate in regional processes relevant to biodiversity. Many of these Conventions and processes have reporting requirements. Given the breadth of issues addressed under the Convention on Biological Diversity and by the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, these various reporting processes can provide useful information for the preparation of the sixth national reports. Examples of these different reporting processes are contained in the table below[5]. In addition to consulting reports prepared for these Conventions and processes, when preparing the sixth national reports, the focal points for these Conventions and processes should be consulted, and to the extent possible, contribute to the preparation of the sixth national reports. Where information relevant to the sixth national reports has already been published it is not necessary to repeat this information directly in the sixth national reports. Rather a short summary of the information could be provided and a link to the relevant publication could be included. Applying these different approaches will help to reduce duplication of efforts between different reporting processes, help to ensure that all relevant information is included in the sixth national report as well as help to create ownership over the report’s conclusions.

VII.  Assessing progress

1. Assessing national progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is key to monitoring the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. In the sixth national reports Parties have been requested to assess their national contributions towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and, as applicable, the progress made towards their national targets.
2. There are multiple approaches that can be used to assess progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and associated national biodiversity targets. The most appropriate approach(es) will depend on national circumstances and the Aichi Biodiversity Target or national target being considered. For these reasons Parties may need to make use of multiple assessment approaches in their sixth national reports. The different approaches can be divided into four general categories:
3. Quantitative indicators - Measures or metrics based on verifiable data and providing a scientifically-robust and objective evidence base. They provide a quantifiable means of assessing progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.