Section I - Background to the NBSAP This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAP) for Sierra Leone has been formulated since 2003 (NBSAP 2004-2010) to stem the alarming rate of loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems in various ecological belts in the country. This reviewed version is effective for the period 2017-2026. The development of the NBSAP is a concept that was initiated and sanctioned by the Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2003 as a key requirement for parties of the convention to fulfil their commitment to conserve biodiversity, as required by Article 6 of the Convention. The reviewed strategy is consistent with two main categories, namely the thematic strategies and general measures, as guided by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The main themes are Wildlife, Forest Biodiversity, Agricultural Biodiversity, Freshwater, Marina and Coastal Biodiversity. The cross-sector strategies and cross-cutting issues include financial resources, policies, regulations and legislation, research and training, capacity building, public participation, planning, monitoring, conservation of protected areas, sustainable use, incentive measures, public education, impact assessment, access to technology, information exchange, sharing of benefits and indigenous knowledge. Sierra Leone became a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in 1994 in Bahamas. The development of the NBSAP is consistent with Agenda 21 of the United Nations, which is the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. In 2003, Sierra Leone developed its NBSAP 2004-2010, but its implementation has had a fair share of successes and challenges. The World Bank, GEF, UNDP, the RSPB and Wetlands International are some of the organisations that supported the NBSAP 2004-2010. There is yet a huge backlog of project objectives to be achieved, which have been considered in the reviewing process. Key lessons were learnt from the development of the NBSAP 2004-2010 fed into the review and development of the NBSAP 2017-2026. Additional priority thematic areas were identified and addressed, such as intellectual property rights and climate change, collaboration between stakeholders, the problem of overlapping mandates and conflict of interest among government agencies, inter alia. The 20 Aichi targets were the key focus in all thematic presentations and group discussions during the national and provincial workshops. The key outcome of the workshops’ presentations, plenary and discussion sessions were the identification of the issues and gaps (Appendix V) in national and local efforts to conserve biodiversity.