Notification 2014-105

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that the drafts of thematic chapters of the State of Knowledge Review on the Interlinkages between Biodiversity and Human Health are now available for review. These chapters provide the scientific underpinnings for the volume and are aimed supporting the contribution that the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 can make to achieving human health objectives as well as informing policy decisions for the health, environment and other related sectors, in the context of the emerging Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Post-2015 development agenda. I invite you and your technical experts to participate in the peer review process. This volume will specifically contribute to: (i) promoting the enhanced use of biodiversity in programmes contributing to human health; (b) raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use for human health co-benefits; © the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, in particular Aichi Biodiversity Target 14, and © support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals. You will recall that the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, at its eleventh meeting, welcomed the strengthening of collaboration between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Health Organization (WHO), and other relevant organizations and initiatives, and requested the establishment of a joint work programme to support the contribution that the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 can make to achieving human health objectives (decision XI/6, paragraph 29). In decision XI/22, paragraph 11 ©, the Conference of the Parties, also requested the Executive Secretary to collaborate with a number of organizations, including the WHO, involved in poverty eradication, human health, food security and gender issues in the process of developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taking into account the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference. Accordingly, the State of Knowledge Review on the Interlinkages between Biodiversity and Human Health (State of Knowledge Review) is being prepared by the Executive Secretary, under the guidance of the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Bioversity International, COHAB Initiative, DIVERSITAS, Ecohealth Alliance, United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), Wildlife Conservation Society Health and Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages (WCS-HEAL), and other partners and experts. As the new flagship publication under the CBD-WHO joint work programme on biodiversity and health, the State of Knowledge Review will be an important source of information for discussions related to the joint work programme on biodiversity and human health, the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and ongoing discussions on the sustainable development goals and post-2015 Development Agenda. The emerging key messages of the State of Knowledge Review were made available for peer review as document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/18/INF/15 and can be accessed from the SBSTTA-18 documents page (https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=sbstta-18). The complete volume of the State of Knowledge Review will be launched during the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to take place in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 17 October 2014. It will also be made available as an information document. The draft thematic chapters for review can be accessed from: http://www.cbd.int/en/health/stateofknowledge. Guidelines for the review of the documents and a template for providing comments are also available from: http://www.cbd.int/en/health/stateofknowledge. Comments should be sent by e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int or by fax to +1 514 288 6588, no later than 15 September 2014. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points, relevant organizations, scientists, indigenous and local communities, and other relevant stakeholders