In 2019 at SBSTA 50, the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) was requested to prioritize the biodiversity theme, with a focus on forests and grasslands. The Adaptation Committee advised the NWP to focus the 14th focal point forum on the link between biodiversity and climate change adaptation.

To kick-off this thematic work, the NWP team organized the first expert group meeting over July 8-9, 2020, which included representatives from constituted bodies such as the Least Developed Countries Expert Group and the Standing Committee of Finance.

In the second meeting, the expert group members explored potential actions to close identified knowledge gaps to address how forest and grassland biodiversity and ecosystems can be effectively integrated into adaptation planning. These knowledge gaps include: data and methods; capacity; governance; and cross-cutting items such as gender responsiveness, meaningful engagement of traditional communities and addressing issues such as social safeguards. The breakout groups provided an opportunity for rich exchanges across the four areas.

The expert group discussions have successfully guided the secretariat in ensuring that the scoping paper captures and responds to the identified critical issues to strengthen the integration of forest and grassland biodiversity and ecosystems into the formulation and implementation of national adaptation plans.

The biodiversity thematic work is being facilitated through the established NWP knowledge-to-action approach, with the aim of producing usable knowledge products and catalysing actions in response to identified knowledge needs. Further details are presented in the figure below.

The outputs from this process will serve as an input to the 14th NWP Focal Point Forum held in conjunction with SBSTA 52 at COP26.