Building capacity for conserving biological diversity

Encourage a review and reorientation of the curricula of existing training programmes concerning biodiversity conservation and human interactions with the natural environment, with particular emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches. Support the development of short-term training courses in biodiversity management tailored to the needs of particular groups such as business, communities, teachers, resource managers, non-governmental organisations, and senior decision-makers. Prevent the loss of skilled expertise from the field of biodiversity management, maintain existing skills and expertise, and improve the capacity of public servants, non-governmental organisations, and communities to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. Develop strategies to improve training and professional development in careers compatible with the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The Sofia Biodiversity Initiative (SBI) is led by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of Slovenia, The main working principles of the SBI are: a) use of existing experience and capacities in the region; b) avoiding overlapping between various activities run by different organisations, authorities, governments and other groups; and c) use of experience in different fields (financing, public participation, integration into different socio-economic sectors, land use planning, etc.) within the Environmental Action Programme. The initiative is run by the Joint Biodiversity Secretariat of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It is planned mainly through exchange of experience between the 15 CEECs, involving NGOs, developing and implementing biodiversity policies, as well as capacity building at national and local level.