Over the period from July 1st to August 3rd, 2020, the UNEP-GEF BCH III project in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) executed a needs assessment survey to collect information and perspectives from parties to the CPB on: (i) Countries’ relevant BCH and Biosafety capacity building needs, (ii) Implementation of BCH and Biosafety measures in general at national, regional and global levels, (iii) Measures that can be instituted to enhance the general knowledge, awareness, participation and sustainability of the BCH and Biosafety over the longer term at national, regional and global levels.
The needs assessment survey was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data to identify gaps, capacity building needs and suggested interventions relevant to the BCH specifically and Biosafety in general. While it primarily involved multiple choice questions, it also included sections for parties to express their views in writing. Aiming to ensure broad participation from relevant Biosafety stakeholders that are knowledgeable of the current national and global biosafety situation, a notification was issued by the SCBD. This notification addressed Parties’ CPB and BCH National Focal Points (NFPs), inviting them and other appropriate persons identified by them, to participate in the survey. Additionally, the BCH III project sent a written communication to its Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)1 contact list that includes 1,673 international recipients who previously participated in the project’s capacity building activities.
