This is the first annual implementation plan of the National Biodiversity Research & Evidence Strategy (NBRES) 2015-2025 approved by the Minister in 2015. The NBRES builds from the July 2015 the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) that set out the policy priorities for the sector in the form of six strategic objectives:
1. Management of biodiversity assets and their contribution to the economy, rural development, job creation and social well-being is enhanced;
2. Investments in ecological infrastructure enhance resilience and ensure benefits to society;
3. Biodiversity considerations are mainstreamed into policies, strategies and practices of a range of sectors;
4. People are mobilised to adopt practices that sustain the long-term benefits of biodiversity; 5. Conservation and management of biodiversity is maintained through the development of an equitable and suitably skilled workforce;
6. Effective knowledge foundations, including indigenous knowledge and citizen science, support management, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The scope of these objectives, and the depth of evidence that is required to meet them, is challenging.
The NBRES 2015-2025 describes how decisionmaking and policy formulation in the biodiversity sector can be most effectively supported with robust evidence. As well as supporting the NBSAP strategic objectives, evidence is also needed to support a number of other sectoral priorities such as: improving efficiencies in government spending and delivery, managing environmental risks, adapting to climate change and strengthening links across Africa. This annual implementation plan is part of a pilot process to synthesise those evidence needs in a single document and communicate them widely across the sector.