Cooperation and Partnerships

About Cooperation and Partnerships

Towards a global partnership

Need for a partnership: meeting the 2010 target
Achieving the 2010 target, and monitoring progress towards it, will require improved coordination, synergy and partnership among various actors and programmes. Moreover, better coordination and partnerships will need to be established in order to ensure effective mainstreaming of biodiversity and the 2010 target into relevant international programmes, projects, processes and initiatives. The fulfillment of the leadership role mandated by the Strategic Plan of the Conventions will require not only greater cooperation with all relevant international instruments and processes but also the active support of such instruments and processes to the work of the Convention.

In decision VII/26 (paragraph 3), the Conference of the Parties requested the Executive Secretary, in close collaboration with relevant conventions, organizations and bodies, to examine options for a flexible framework between all relevant actors, such as a global partnership on biodiversity, in order to enhance implementation through improved cooperation.

Possible models

The exact mandate and nature of a flexible framework for enhanced collaboration have not been clearly defined, but there are a number of possible models to follow and initiatives to build upon, as discussed in a document on cooperation prepared for COP-7.

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF)

  • The CPF was established in 2001, and has as its two primary objectives (i) to support the work of the UN Forum on Forests and its member countries and (ii) to enhance cooperation and coordination on forest issues. The CPF supports the implementation of IPF/IFF proposals for action.
  • The CPF comprises 14 member organizations that have a central role in forest management—without necessarily having forests as their central interest—including UN bodies, convention secretariats, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
  • Formal membership in the CPF is limited, but complemented by a broader, more informal ‘CPF network’ of forest stakeholders.
    Type II partnerships

  • Type II partnerships are an important outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and are meant to complement the primary outcome of government commitments to sustainable development. Partnerships should contribute to the implementation of inter-governmental commitments in Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and should be new (i.e., not merely reflect existing initiatives).
  • Partnerships are voluntary multi-stakeholder initiatives that range in formality and composition. The inclusion of different types of actors is encouraged (e.g., inter-governmental, national and non-governmental organizations, the private sector).
    Existing partnerships involving the CBD