A workshop on national bio-diversity strategy in Damascus
Syria, Environment, 2/23/2002

A workshop under the title " national bio-diversity strategy and action plan" was held in Damascus on February 17 in collaboration between the Syrian ministry of the Environment and the UNDP.

In a statement to Arabic News (ArabicNews.com) UNDP resident coordinator resident Taoufik Ben Amara said that this is a workshop organized by the Ministry of Environment and the UNDP on the conservation of bio- diversity in order to finalize the national report on bio- diversity, " and this is a part of the greater action plan for the preservation of environment and natural resources for which Syria has been working with the international organizations for a while." He continued that this workshop has come out with recommendations aiming at strengthening the national strategy for preservation of bio-diversity This National meeting come under the activities of the National bio-diversity strategy and action plan add- on activities project.

The project is funded by the global environmental facility(GEF ), and supervised by UNDP United Nation Development Program. To this end the UNDP is providing a substantive efforts in assisting Syria in the implementation of international treaties, conventions, and protocols on environment.

The project is a National executed project. The Ministry of environment is the executing agency in close coordination with the related ministries especially the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Higher education and Ministry of Education and other stakeholders.

Bin Amara added that among many others the project objectives are: Assisting the Government of Syria, National Bio-diversity Unit ( NBU ) in assessing capacity building needs, in identifying specific priorities, analyzing institutional and functional capabilities and determining mechanisms necessary to protect national bio-diversity in accordance with National Bio-diversity Strategy and Action plan ( NBSAP) recommendation, and the COP / CBD guidelines; Enable the National Bio-diversity Unit (NBU) to undertake necessary consultative process required to prepare / adopt and submit the second national report on Bio-diversity since the First National Report was at the end of 1999.

The importance of this meeting comes from the fact that the findings and recommendations at the end of this meeting will form the main inputs of the second National Report on Bio-diversity which will be delivered to the secretary of the Bio-diversity Convention and it will indeed reflect Syria commitment to the convention and The efforts made to conserve bio-diversity at the national level since 1999.

Previous Stories:
  Workshop on national bio-diversity strategy in Damascus   (2/22/2002)
  A workshop on the national chemical strategy profile   (1/9/2002)
  Damascus' regional Information Environmental System workshop   (12/17/2001)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search