The Convention on Biological Diversity has been adopted by many countries, resulting in the development of national biodiversity strategies. This illustrates the international recognition of the importance of protecting ecosystems. However, ecosystems still face many threats, some of them growing and spreading so rapidly as to cause irreversible deterioration in many countries and areas.
One of the recommendations emerging from the COP-8 (Decision XIII/8 [6]) promoted a series of regional and/or sub-regional workshops on capacity building for NBSAPs. These will
be held with the aim to discuss national experiences in implementing NBSAPs, the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, obstacles, and ways and means
for overcoming these obstacles. It was recommended that these workshops be held (subject to the availability of funding) prior to COP-9, to provide an opportunity to directly support