On 19, April 2012, the inception meeting for Provincial Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan Preparation (PBSAP) compilation and formulation was held in Haikou. Xu Zhuang, Party Committee Secretary of Hainan Provincial Government, Baicheng Shou, Deputy Director General of Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation, Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP), Ms. Li Pei, Deputy Director of Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) of MEP, Mao Dongli, Deputy Director General of Hainan Department of Land& Environmental Resources delivered speeches on the meeting, which was attended by as many as over 40 representatives from Hainan Committee of Development and Reform, Hainan Department of Finance and other work units comprising the leading group for Hainan Provincial PBSAP compilation and formulation.

Mr. Bai Chengshou put forward three requirements in his speech for Hainan to pay attention to when formulating PBSAP: firstly, strengthen leadership and coordination; secondly, highlight characteristics and uniqueness; thirdly, complete the work on time and release PBSAP as early as possible.

Madam Li Pei highlighted that it had become a good example for international cooperation project to effectively support work conducted at the local level in China. FECO would continue to avail the platform offered by the Priority Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development to Implement the China Biodiversity Partnership and Framework for Action Programme (IS Project) to provide Hainan and Guangxi with practical support in PBSAP compilation and formulation in the ways of making available experts resources and making meetings arrangement at important juncture time; it was hoped as she added that contractual obligations should be strictly fulfilled and agreement complied with, so that work carried out in Hainan could progress on schedule and be completed on time.

Participants listened to the work progress of Hainan PBASP compilation as reported by the Hainan Department of Land & Environmental Resource and reporters who were responsible for research work carried out for various thematic subjects. Other issues related to overall work plan, leading committee, project management office, research group for thematic subject, advisory and consultative group and labour division were reviewed on the inception meeting too.

The event was considered vitally important following the inception meeting for Guangxi PBSAP compilation in December 2011, which signaled the IS Project has fully initiated its activities in support of work of "Hainan /Guangxi PBSAP preparation”. It had become a typical case for FECO to assist work carried out at the local level through implementing international cooperation project.

During the meeting, FECO, together with Hainan Academy of Environmental Sciences and Guangxi Department of Environmental Protection signed the funding agreement on CBPF IS Project’s support of PBSAP compilation work.