Convention on Biological Diversity official notification:
| Elizabeth Maruma Mrema Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity |
Further to notification 2021-019 ( https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2021/ntf-2021-019-cop15-en.pdf ) issued on 18 March 2021 on the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15), Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP 10), and Fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP-MOP 4) (the “Meetings” hereinafter), I am pleased to provide Parties and observers with an update on the preparations for these Meetings.
After extensive consultations by the Secretariat with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, as host of the Meetings, and with the view to provide political momentum for the preparations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, a decision has been made to convene the above-referenced Meetings in two parts. The first part of the Meetings will take place in a virtual format from 11 to 15 October 2021 with limited onsite presence in Kunming of accredited delegates from embassies and organizations already located and based in China. The second part will reconvene in a face-to-face meeting in Kunming, China from 25 April to 8 May 2022.
The first part will include the opening of the Meetings and will address agenda items that have been identified by the Bureau as essential for the continuation of the operations of the Convention and the Protocols. There will also be a High Level Segment. The second and resumed part would address the remaining agenda items of the Meetings, including the finalization and adoption of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework. The Secretariat has conducted thorough review of the implications of convening the Meetings in two parts and found no legal, procedural or budgetary obstacles.
The convening of the Meetings in two parts as outlined above will allow time for the completion of the preparatory negotiations on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and on other substantive matters through resumed sessions of the meetings of SBSTTA 24, SBI 3 and the further meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, tentatively planned to take place concurrently, in person in January 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland. Further information in this regard will be provided in due course.
The provisional agendas for the Meetings, as approved by the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties, are accessible at: https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15 , https://www.cbd.int/meetings/CP-MOP-10 , https://www.cbd.int/meetings/NP-MOP-04 . The Secretariat is currently preparing a note on the Meetings to provide further information on the agenda items to be covered and precise modalities for the Meetings. This and other documentation and relevant information will be made available on these webpages once finalized.
