The Convention on Biological Diversity gave global recognition to biodiversity, highlighted its fragility and underscored its importance to sustainable development. The Convention calls for accurate and up-to-date data on species, their current status, the threats they face, the actions being taken to protect them and the gaps that remain in conserving biodiversity.

How efficiently and sustainably Kenya uses its biodiversity and ecological services for economic development and human wellbeing depends on a sound knowledge and wise husbandry of its biodiversity.  Kenya’s commitment to sustainable development and conserving biodiversity calls for valuing and monitoring natural capital within a national economic and social framework. This presentation will look at the tools and approaches at a local, regional and national level, which have been applied in Kenya to document and understand Kenya’s biodiversity. Knowledge of the status, trends and threats as well as how one transitions from a fine to a coarse scale in developing ecosystem, county and national plans based on biodiversity data, is combined with input from local communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies.