BY ELLISON.T.VAHI
THE Solomon Islands Government will next year launch its sixth report on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Over the past years, the Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) under the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) have been working closely with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to identify various environmental issues that contributes to biodiversity decline in the country.
Under the Environment Act 1998, Section Eight stipulates that every three years a report on the State of the Environment (SOE) must be submitted to the Minister. The Minister will then bring the report to National Parliament.
The ECD is also mandated under the Act to administer mechanisms for addressing biodiversity loss.
Since backing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1995 the country has produced a total of five National Reports.
MECDM and SPREP have conducted consultations and data collections with relevant stakeholders over the past 10 months as part of the SOE reporting process which focuses on seven thematic areas on Biodiversity, Marine and Coastal, Land, Inland Waters, Built Environment, Atmosphere & Climate as well Culture & Heritage.
On the other hand, it is now working towards the development of the Sixth Implementation Report of the CBD.
This report will outline biodiversity strategy and action plan. This is in response to the commitment made by Solomon Islands in ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995. The broad goal of the convention for the Solomon Islands is to conserve and sustainably manage the biodiversity of Solomon Islands.
In this upcoming implementation report, an important issue identified is the need to understand the flow of natural systems from ridge to reef.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international legally-binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
