During the FNA preparation phase, it is necessary to identify the most important stakeholders, experts and key decision makers to which the results of the assessment can be addressed. This stakeholder engagement effort builds on the work of the PIR (Chapter 4) and the BER (Chapter 5). National governments are likely to finance the bulk of the national biodiversity strategies and action plans through the existing budgeting processes. As such, the ministries of finance and planning should be considered principal decision makers and actors involved in the costing process. Other agencies, ministries, and organizations previously discussed should also be included.

These partners should be kept in mind as potential “owners” of the FNA, and their involvement can be aided by linking the FNA to existing fiscal management in a country (see Box 5.1). For example, in some cases ministries of finance are willing to consider increased funding requests from ministries of environment only with further evidence and stronger data to understand the return.

Other elements in the preparation phase include:

• Form a working group containing experts to work in tandem with the national BIOFIN team.
• Draft a work plan including a timeline and stakeholder consultations. A series of consultation workshops a variety of stakeholders from a wide array of sectors is recommended.
• Review methodology and seek lessons from other countries.
• Identify potential data sources through initial outreach to stakeholders.