The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation provides an important framework to bring together a great diversity of organizations and initiatives to meet common objectives in plant conservation. Many organisations and institutions are already working on the implementation of a range of initiatives that support the implementation of the Strategy and the achievement of its 2010 targets. Many are incorporating relevant actions towards the achievement of specific targets into their existing work programmes. However the need for wider partnerships and involvement by many more organisations in the achievement of the objectives of the Strategy is crucial. To achieve this, mechanisms, ways and means by which a wider group of organisations could be involved are needed, particularly emphasising the partnership approach that is central to the whole Strategy.
Thus, a Global Partnership for Plant Conservation is being established to support the world-wide implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. This Partnership is to build on the work begun by the “Gran Canaria group”, an informal consortium of international and national organisations that came together in 2000 to support the development of a global strategy for plant conservation.
Its establishment has been welcomed by the CBD Executive Secretary and by representatives of a range of national and international organisations - listed on the GPPC Partners page.
In addition, at its 9th meeting in Montreal in November 2003, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) recommended that the 7th Conference of the Parties welcomes the establishment of the global partnership for plant conservation and encouraged the participating organizations to continue to contribute to the implementation of the Strategy. The meeting also invited other organizations to join the partnership, and encouraged Botanic Gardens Conservation International to continue its support for the partnership (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/4 Annex 1 and UNEP/CBD/COP/7/13).