Mainstreaming Conservation into Policies, Plans and Legal Frameworks

1. Mainstreaming Conservation into Policies, Plans and Legal Frameworks Cedric Schuster WWF-South Pacific Program

2. What is mainstreaming • Mainstreaming conservation is the internalisation of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as an integral component of national and community development • Legislation and budgets endorsed through parliaments • National Development Plans, Policies, Programmes • National Budgets and Aid Programmes • Private Sector Actions • Community Plans and decision-making

3. Examples of Mainstreaming at the Government Level • National Sustainable Development Plan: FSM • National Environment or Sustainable Development legislation: Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, etc.. • National Tourism Plan: Samoa, Fiji • Vanuatu Cultural Policy • National Biodiversity, Marine, Water, and Forest Policies: Samoa • NBSAP’s (FSM, Niue, Vanuatu, RMI, Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati, Cook Islands

4. Critical Issues for Mainstreaming • Information • Generating the right information and making it available to the right audience at the right time • Capacity • Political and traditional leaders, civil servants and civil society capacity build to deal with conservation issues • Finances • Availability of mechanisms to access and generate funding for conservation • Network • Network available to facilitate collaboration and coordination of activities • Willingness to Act • Political, community and individual

5. Conservation Issues • Species Conservation • Habitat conservation • Cultural Conservation • Tools • Protected areas • Species protection • Biosecurity management • Ex-situ protection • Environmental Assessments and Monitoring • Economics Instruments • Environmental Education and awareness • International Agreements

6. Target Audience • Government. • Parliament and Cabinet • The National Planning, Finance and Foreign Affairs • Line Ministries • External Influences: Aid Donors, Tourists, Researchers • Private Sector: Exporters • Communities: Traditional leaders, Village/tribal councils, women's and youth groups • Schools • Religious Groups • NGO’s: environmental, gender, human rights and development NGO’s

7. Triggers and Drivers •  Mainstreaming does not happen automatically, it is usually initiated and driven by something or someone. Pacific examples • Natural occurrences: • Concerned Leaders : • Concerned Civil Servants: • Concerned Citizens: • International commitment: • Outside pressures: • Availability of resources:

8. NBSAP’s in the Pacific • Information: • Public awareness materials • Public forums • Technical reports • Financial Resources: GEF and Governments • Network: Multistakeholder planning and implementation teams • Capacity: FSM, Cook Islands, RMI, Vanuatu, and Samoa

9. Issues for Consideration • Regional and International Level • Policies to support mainstreaming actions at the national level, • Coordination and technical support • International mechanisms supporting mainstreaming • National and Local Actions • Getting the right audience to act