Biodiversity officials and reporters train on use of digital platform ahead of UN global biodiversity summit
(Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) at Chitwan National Park, Nepal.       Image: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD)

Kathmandu, 19 September 2024 – National biodiversity experts and officials from Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Cambodia have gathered in Kathmandu to explore new ways to monitor and report on the state of nature in their countries.

The meeting comes as countries grapple with the additional reporting burden that has accompanied the proliferation in nature-related agreements and targets over the last decades, as the pressure to halt and reverse precipitous declines in nature around the world mounts.

At the event, joint organizers the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), gave key regional stakeholders the opportunity to test new tools and approaches to streamline, improve the accuracy and reduce the burden of reporting.

The new, pro-bono, private and secure national data reporting tool (DaRT), developed by UNEP and funded by the government of Switzerland and the European Union, can organize, store, and share the data needed for all current conventions and targets. The organizers have also sought to increase knowledge of reporting methods, with a focus on cross-ministerial and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Hari Bahadur KC, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal, strongly endorsed the initiative saying: “This will help us organise and share information for the various conventions and in systematic development of institutional knowledge for data generation and reporting.”

Diane Klaimi, UNEP’s DaRT team leader, said: “Our hope is that DaRT will significantly alleviate the burden of reporting many governments face in this critical decade for nature, and ultimately ensure more government resources continue to flow to the crucial national and local policies and strategies to halt and reverse nature loss.”

The National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) aligned with the global biodiversity goals is a key document nations are expected to deliver at next month’s 16th UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of Parties. DaRT can facilitate the integration of other important global biodiversity related multilateral environmental agreements, running from the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Convention on Migratory Species, to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the World Heritage Convention.

W.K. Rathnadeera, Senior Programme Officer of SACEP, said: “SACEP welcomes this innovative tool, which we believe has the potential to significantly reduce the human and financial resources our member countries spend on reporting.”
About the organizer

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global authority on the environment. UNEP’s mission is to inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. For over 50 years, UNEP has worked with governments, civil society, the private sector and UN entities to address humanity’s most pressing environmental challenges - from restoring the ozone layer to protecting the world's seas and promoting a green, inclusive economy.

UNEP is driving transformational change by drilling down on the root causes of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution. UNEP’s work is focused on helping countries transition to low-carbon and resource-efficient economies, strengthening environmental governance and law, safeguarding ecosystems, and providing evidence-based data to inform policy decisions.

Through cutting-edge science, coordination and advocacy, UNEP supports its 193 Member States to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and live in harmony with nature. UNEP headquarters is based in Nairobi, Kenya and it also has regional offices including the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, Thailand.

South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP)

South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) is an inter-governmental organization established in 1982 by the Governments of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is a multilateral organization registered with the UN Secretariat in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. The prime objective for setting up SACEP was to promote and support protection, management and enhancement of the environment in the region. SACEP is also hosting and managing the South Asian Seas Programme. SACEP Secretariat is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. www.sacep.org.

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region stretches 3,500km across Asia, spanning eight countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Encompassing high-altitude mountain ranges, mid-hills, and plains, the zone is vital for the food, water, and energy security of up to two billion people and is a habitat for countless irreplaceable species. It is also acutely fragile, and vulnerable to the impacts of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is an international organisation established in 1983, that is working to make this critical region greener, more inclusive and climate resilient. For more information, read our Strategy 2030 and explore our website.
For media inquiries, please contact:

ICIMOD (Kathmandu)
Annie Dare, Head of Communications
Raz Tuladhar, Media Officer
Anshu Pandey, Senior Media Associate
Email: media@icimod.org

UNEP
Yannik Friedli, Associate Programme Management Officer
Email: yannik.friedli@un.org