The journey towards the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) presents both challenges and opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and learning across regions. The NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, through its in-country support, plays a crucial role in this acceleration process, as demonstrated at the informal knowledge exchange meeting during SBI-4 in Nairobi, Kenya. Country representatives engaged in discussions aimed at bridging gaps and implementing GBF-aligned NBSAPs.

At the margins of SBSTTA-26 and SBI-4 of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership hosted an informal knowledge exchange and networking dinner. This event provided a platform for countries supported by the partnership to share challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned in aligning their NBSAPs with the GBF through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

The meeting highlighted the importance of triangular cooperation and coordination, identifying four major challenges and three key practices:

• Lack of Ambition: Competing priorities, such as food security, often overshadow biodiversity conservation, necessitating efforts to mainstream biodiversity across governance and development sectors.
• Limited Financial Resources: Participants noted the gap between financial resources and the need for biodiversity protection, underscoring the importance of sustainable financing mechanisms.
• Ineffective Coordination: Fragmentation at the provincial level and weak institutional coordination highlight the need for streamlined governance structures to achieve GBF goals.
• Monitoring and Mainstreaming: Clear monitoring frameworks and mainstreaming mechanisms are essential, but limited expertise and conflicting mandates pose significant obstacles.

• Strengthened Coordination: Some countries have adopted a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, establishing cross-sectoral biodiversity groups to coordinate implementation efforts.
• Enhanced Monitoring and Capacity Building: Investments in robust M&E plans and capacity-building initiatives have improved implementation efforts, ensuring accountability and transparency.
• Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: Inclusive dialogue and partnerships with parliamentarians, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, and local communities have amplified the impact of biodiversity initiatives.

A networking dinner followed, deepening relationships among countries receiving in-country support and representatives from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), International Climate Initiative (IKI), GIZ, the CBD Secretariat, UNDP, and UNEP. Participants discussed coordination, financial resources, data management, and monitoring, all crucial for bridging the gap and achieving the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework together.