On May 3, 2016, a mini-workshop was held in the premises of the liaison office of the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE), a mini-workshop to validate terms of reference to develop a Strategic Research Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan on Biodiversity in Burundi. The various researchers and representatives of the various institutions involved in the research were present in this mini-workshop.

This mini-workshop was opened by a speech by the Director General of OBPE who indicated that, starting from the lack of data on biodiversity and the results of Burundi's fifth report to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which also shows the lack of scientific data, this mini-workshop comes in response to set up a National Strategy and Research Action Plan on Biodiversity.

In closing his speech, the Director General of OBPE did not fail to thank the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium which, through the memorandum of understanding that he signed with the OBPE, continues to support him in his research, information exchange, information exchange, awareness-raising and biodiversity conservation activities.

The activities continued with two consecutive short presentations made by the head of biodiversity research at OBPE.

 

The first presentation consisted of a reminder on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (SNPAB) where it was a question of presenting the context of the SNPAB, the causes and consequences of the degradation of biodiversity, constraints to the management of biodiversity, constraints to biodiversity management, strategy and action plan, strategic axes and national objectives.

 

Second, a presentation on the terms of reference for the development of the Strategic Research Plan (SRP) for the implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan on Biodiversity in Burundi was presented. On this point, a few points relating to the mandate, the expected product and its components have been developed.

 

Thus, he pointed out, the expected product is a strategic plan document with the following main components:

• Introduction;
• State of the art of research on biodiversity;
• Legal, political and institutional framework for biodiversity research;
• Existing capacities for biodiversity research for the implementation of the SNPAB;
• Constraints and needs for biodiversity research for the implementation of the SNPAB;
• Opportunity for biodiversity research for the implementation of the SNPAB.

 

After these presentations, a discussion and enrichment session on terms of reference followed. Concerns were raised by participants, in particular the number and profile of resource persons who will be responsible for developing the Strategic Research Plan.

 

In addition, some enhancements have been made: Addition of the taxonomy-related strategy; Identification of the approaches and tools required for the restoration of ecosystems and species that have disappeared or are in deterioration; Reformulation of a few sentences for more details.

 

This mini-workshop was closed by the speech of the Director General of OBPE who thanked the participants for their proven contributions and invited them to be more involved in the development of this Strategic Research Plan which, moreover, will refer to the SNPAB already developed.