11/01/17

Platform to bolster biodiversity conservation launched

Array of many different types of pulse.
Copyright: Adrian Evans/Panos

Speed read

  • The project’s pilot phase occurred in four nations and ended in November 2016
  • The continuation phase aims to help countries implement biodiversity plans
  • An expert says it could help African countries achieve biodiversity conservation

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[CANCUN] A learning platform piloted in four countries — including Senegal — is expected to help the West African region boost biodiversity conservation.
 
The project, Regions for Biodiversity Learning Platform (RBLP), is an initiative of the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4sd).
 
The six-month pilot phase in biodiversity conservation that also took place in Brazil, Canada and Spain ended in November 2016.

“The benefits of this project for West Africa will be the possibility to share experiences and best practices.”

Mamadou Ndong Toure, Gossas Council Department

 

The project’s scale-up was launched at the UN 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity  ('COP13) held in Mexico last month (4-17 December) where governments and private sector delegations gathered to discuss the integration of biodiversity into policies relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism sectors.
 
The initiative seeks to support countries to implement their subnational biodiversity action plans to safeguard nature protection.
 
Mamadou Ndong Toure, a geographer and project manager for Senegal-based Gossas Council Department, which is involved in the project, says the main objective is to exchange experiences and best practices in conformity with the national biodiversity strategy actions plan. The Senegalese project will expand to other countries in West Africa to enable the region properly develop biodiversity conservation.
 
He states that the pilot phase offered knowledge about innovative actions and challenges faced by other governments. The challenges include natural resources degradation, lack of human resources, and limited financial resources. The innovative actions are restoration or conservation, training, and funding research through partnership.
 
"The benefits of this project for West Africa will be the possibility to share experiences and best practices and to become member of a dynamic network working on actual thematic areas like biodiversity and climate change," Toure tells SciDev.Net.
 
Activities implemented during the pilot phase included the creation of nature reserves, and establishment of informative monitoring system in the field of climate change, he adds.
 
Rodrigo Messias, a policy officer at the nrg4sd responsible for the project, says the learning platform is now open for any region to join, adding that participation in the project attracts no membership fee but willingness and commitment to share and contribute actively.
 
"We will also create a website and a database for the regions participating in the project. Besides information about policies, laws and actions taken, participants will also have access to online forums to continue the discussions held during the online meetings," he explains.

He notes that the project is currently financed by the nrg4sd, and says that the nrg4sd intends to provide a robust structure and continue its expansion.
 
Arinze S. Okoli, a scientist at Centre for Biosafety, a non-commercial foundation in Norway, says the project could help countries in West Africa create strategies to achieve biodiversity conservation.
 
Okoli adds that the project will build the capacity of scientists on issues of biodiversity conservation discussed at international conferences to help them make meaningful contributions.
 
This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.