Global implementation

April 2012

A paper on progress towards implementation of the GSPC was prepared for the 16th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to the CBD (30 April - 5 May, 2012). This paper provides an overview of progress in the following areas:

Technical Rationales of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011-2020
Development or updating of national and regional targets relevant to the GSPC 2011-2020
Mechanisms to support implementation of, and raise awareness about, the GSPC 2011-2020
Monitoring implementation and review of the achievement of the GSPC 2011-2020

It also includes Annexes which provide the full text of the proposed Terms and Technical Rationales for the targets of the GSPC and a table which focuses on the application of the indicative list of indicators agreed in SBSTTA recommendation XV/1 to the GSPC 2011-2020.

Copies of this document in all the UN languages can be downloaded here (Document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/11)

July 2011

In July 2011 a GSPC Liaison Group meeting was held at the Missouri Botanical Garden. This meeting was organised by the CBD Secretariat and the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation.

The aim of the meeting was to review implementation of the updated GSPC.

A report of the meeting is available here.

Resonses to the report have been provided by three Parties (Brazil, France and Mexico) and one institution (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew).

The responses from Brazil and France include information on progress in GSPC implementation at the national level.

An earlier in-depth review of progress towards the 2010 targets of the GSPC was carried out in 2008. This was based on (i) information compiled from the third national reports; (ii) additional information submitted by Parties, stakeholders and partners; and (iii) input from the meeting of a liaison group convened by the Executive Secretary in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation, held in Glasnevin, Dublin, from 23 to 25 October 2006.

The review indicates that, in line with its objectives, the Global Strategy has provided a useful framework to harmonize and bring together various initiatives and programmes in plant conservation at both the national and regional levels. The GSPC has been notably successful in stimulating the engagement of the botanical and plant conservation communities in the work of the Convention, through the establishment of national, regional and global networks, including in particular the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation, launched at the seventh meeting of the Conference of Parties to the CBD.

The GSPC has also stimulated the development of new projects and initiatives and helped to mobilize resources for the implementation of its targets.

The findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment provide a further rationale for implementing the Strategy, including at the national level, with a view to securing plant resources and their provisioning services and allowing communities to continue to derive benefits from plant diversity, for example, food, medicines, fuel, fibre, wood and other uses. In addition, the context of national implementation of the GSPC provides opportunities to address the Millennium Development Goals especially by seeking to reduce poverty (Goal 1), combat diseases (Goal 6) and promote environmental sustainability (Goal 7).

The results of the in-depth review have been published in the Plant Conservation report, which is available in 6 languages.