Why is it in the News?

In response to the escalating biodiversity crisis, the Global Species Action Plan (GSAP) is designed to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

About GSAP SKILLS Platform:

• The Global Species Action Plan (GSAP) SKILLS platform, standing for (Species Conservation Knowledge, Information, Learning, Leverage, and Sharing), brings the GSAP’s content online and enables real-time updates of technical tools and resources.
• This platform aims to facilitate global collaboration and partnership by connecting decision-makers, species conservation practitioners, and experts at all levels.
• It ensures accessibility and relevance by providing real-time updates on technical tools and resources.
• Each target within the Global Biodiversity Framework is accompanied by a summary and rationale for species conservation interventions, actions, and sub-actions, along with the actors involved and the technical tools and resources required, facilitating the scaling-up of implementation efforts.
• Managed proactively by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the platform meets the needs of governments and stakeholders to take decisive action for species conservation.
• The development of the GSAP SKILLS platform has been principally supported by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, with additional resources from the Tech4Nature Initiative, launched by IUCN and Huawei in 2020.

What is the Global Species Action Plan?

• It has been developed to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and to address the increasing biodiversity loss worldwide.
• It outlines strategic interventions and actions to conserve and sustainably manage species while ensuring equitable benefits.

About Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework:

• The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is an outcome of the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference.
  • Its tentative title had been the "Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework".
• The GBF was adopted by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022.
  • It has been promoted as a "Paris Agreement for Nature".
• It is one of a handful of agreements under the auspices of the CBD, and it is the most significant to date.
• It has been hailed as a "huge, historic moment" and a "major win for our planet and for all of humanity."
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking at the 2022 biodiversity conference in Montreal which led to this treaty
• The Framework is named after two cities, Kunming, which was scheduled to be the host city for COP15 in October 2020 but postponed and subsequently relinquished the hosting duties due to China's COVID policy, and Montreal, which is the seat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat and stepped in to host COP15 after Kunming's cancellation.