Article 26 of the CBD requires Parties to report to the Conference of the Parties (COP) on measures taken to implement the Convention and their effectiveness in achieving the objectives of the Convention.
Decisions II/17, V/19, VI/25, and VII/25, respectively, invited CBD Parties to submit three national reports and six thematic reports. [Some thematic or voluntary reports were also called for in other decisions.] As of January 2006, the CBD Secretariat had received a total of 141 first, 122 second, and 63 third national reports. A number of thematic reports have been received as well. In general, the submission of national reports by the respective deadlines set in relevant COP decisions was very low for various reasons, including limited human, technical, and financial resources.
The information in national and thematic reports provides information on trends, progress, and challenges. Accordingly, various meetings under the Convention — in particular meetings of SBSTTA and COP — regularly review the information contained in these reports. For example, the information contained in second national reports was synthesized for consideration at both COP 6 and COP 7. A synthesis of information contained in third national reports has been prepared for consideration at COP 8. In addition, syntheses of information contained in thematic reports have been prepared for consideration at different meetings of SBSTTA when these thematic areas were under review.
A number of meetings under the Convention reviewed the reporting process and provided recommendations on how to improve the reporting guidelines and process. Recently, the first meeting of the Working Group on Review of Implementation (see the case study following Guideline 15) suggested that measures be taken to facilitate timely reporting, including giving more time to Parties to prepare reports and expediting access to funds. More importantly, it suggested that the fourth and future national reports should be outcome-oriented and focus on the status and trends of biodiversity, implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and progress toward the 2010 target and the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan. It also suggested promoting harmonisation of reporting under related conventions to increase synergies and reduce reporting burdens.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been requested in a number of COP decisions to provide funds and expedite funding for preparing national reports. The GEF usually provides such funds through biodiversity enabling activities of eligible countries. To expedite funding, the GEF and its implementing agencies recently adopted an umbrella project approach by which eligible countries can apply for and receive funds from the GEF implementing agencies (which apply for a funding package on behalf of eligible countries), instead of presenting applications individually to the GEF, which usually takes more time.
All the national and thematic reports received so far had been posted on the website of the Convention. They can be accessed at http://www.biodiv.org/reports/default.aspx In addition, an analytical tool had been developed for the second and third national reports and all the thematic reports, which can be accessed at http://www.biodiv.org/reports/analyzer.aspx
For more information, contact secretariat@biodiv.org