Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) – 6th National Report
Sri Lanka became a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the convention was ratified in 1994.
To fulfill this objective, Sri Lanka has prepared the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. The decision of the Conference on Parties (COP), CBD has requested that countries take initiatives to prepare the 6th National Report which will assess the progress and implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP). Therefore, the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment has initiated actions to prepare the 6th National Report of Sri Lanka under the direct modality funding of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). EFL is assigned with the task of preparing the report.
The EFL team is currently in the process of collecting information to update the biodiversity profile and assess the progress of national biodiversity conservation measures required for developing the report.
The main initial workshop for the 6th National Report was held on the 16th of January 2018 in Colombo. This was to introduce the project, specify desired outcomes and obtain relevant stakeholder ideas and inputs on to execute this project collaboratively.
On the 19th & 20th of February 2018, a two-day residential workshop for National Institutes was also held. This was to gather all stakeholders in one room, to collect and validate all the required information and data required to assess the progress of the actions outlined in the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP).
Workshops for Biodiversity experts were divided into two sessions as Flora and Fauna.
In summary, EFL developed the 6th National Report with extensive consultations with an array of stakeholders, including many government, NGO, community members and biodiversity experts. Two residential workshops were conducted for the public officers to assess the progress of the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP) 2016-2022 in relation to their work. More than 100 biodiversity experts were gathered in one room to gain their insights and expertise in updating the biodiversity profile. Regional consultations were carried out in Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Kandy, Matale, Matara, Hambantota Monaragala, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Kalpitiya regions, where both regional level professionals and community members were engaged in discussions related to biodiversity protection at the local scale. Results of NBSAP evaluation and biodiversity profile were validated through workshops. The validated results have been submitted to the CBD and the updated biodiversity profile will be published once reviewed by the publication committee at the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment.
This project is now complete.
