X/40.Mechanisms to promote the effective participation of indigenous and local communities in the work of the Convention

1.Welcomes with appreciation the capacity-building efforts for indigenous and local communities by the Secretariat, in partnership with the Government of Spain and the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network of the Latin American and Caribbean region, on issues relevant to Article 8(j) and related provisions and Article 15 on access and benefit-sharing, especially in anticipation of the adoption and post-2010 implementation of the international regime on access and benefit-sharing, and encourages Parties to continue such efforts;

2.Welcomes the series of regional and subregional workshops aimed at capacity-building for indigenous and local communities carried out by the Secretariat in partnership with Parties, in support of the enhanced implementation through web-based technologies of the Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity; ¹⁰¹

3.Encourages the Secretariat to continue its efforts to facilitate the effective implementation of decisions regarding capacity-building ¹⁰² through workshops using a train-the–trainer methodology and extending opportunities to all regions, with a view to increasing the number of indigenous and local community representatives, particularly women, who are familiar with and participate in the work of the Convention, including its implementation at the national and local level;

4.Invites Parties, Governments and relevant organizations, including indigenous and local community organizations, to consider collaborating with the Secretariat to establish similar initiatives in other regions, with the view to building and strengthening the capacity of indigenous and local community representatives, particularly women and young people, to effectively participate in the work of the Convention;

5.Requests the Executive Secretary to continue to convene, subject to the availability of financial resources, regional and subregional capacity-building workshops and exchange of experience on issues relevant to Article 8(j), Article 10(c) and Article 15, to assist indigenous and local communities in their effective participation in the work of the Convention, with the view of strengthening their capacity;

6.Also requests the Executive Secretary to continue to convene, subject to the availability of financial resources, regional and subregional workshops aimed at capacity-building for indigenous and local communities in support of the enhanced implementation of the Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development under the Convention on Biological Diversity through enhanced marketing strategies and web-based technologies, for dry and sub-humid lands and for mountains and to report the results to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions for consideration at its seventh meeting.

1.Notes the ongoing work concerning electronic mechanisms, such as the Article 8(j) homepage, the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal, and related initiatives and requests the Executive Secretary to monitor the use of the these initiatives and consult with indigenous and local communities that are participating in the work of the Convention on gaps and short-comings and report the findings to next meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;

2.Invites the Executive Secretary to consult with Parties and indigenous and local communities to determine how the Traditional Knowledge Portal may continue to evolve to increase its effectiveness in assisting Parties and in particular national focal points, in their work regarding Article 8(j) and related provisions;

3.Invites Parties and Governments to submit national laws, legislation, policies, programme and other relevant information regarding the protection of traditional knowledge to the Secretariat to be publicized through the Traditional Knowledge Portal;

4.Welcomes and encourages the further development of the various non-electronic mechanisms, tools, products, to raise awareness about the role of traditional knowledge in attaining the goals of the Convention, and encourages their promotion after the International Year of Biodiversity;

5.Requests the Secretariat, subject to the availability of financial resources, to continue to develop both electronic and traditional and other means of community-education and public-awareness materials, and other means of communication, including in indigenous and local languages, and invites Parties to publicize such materials through community radio and other diverse media, in collaboration with international organizations, indigenous and local communities, and other stakeholders;

6.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availibity of financial resources, to continue to develop, update and translate the various electronic communication mechanisms, including the Article 8(j) homepage and the Traditional Knowledge Information Portal and to report on progress to the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions at its seventh meeting;

7.Invites Parties to consider designating national focal points for Article 8(j) and related provisions in support of national focal points, to facilitate communications with indigenous and local community organizations and to promote the effective development and implementation of the programme of work on Article 8(j) and related provisions.

1.Notes with appreciation the ongoing efforts by the Secretariat to promote the Voluntary Fund for Facilitating the Participation of Indigenous and Local Communities in the Convention Process (VB Trust Fund), and requests the Executive Secretary to continue efforts and to report on the advancement of this work, along with the relevant statistics concerning the participation of indigenous and local communities, at the next meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions;

2.Invites Parties, Governments and relevant funding institutions and mechanisms to contribute generously to the Voluntary Fund, noting that the effective participation of indigenous and local communities is essential to the work of the Convention and in achieving its three objectives;

3.Invites Parties to make efforts to include indigenous and local-community organizations who are mandated by their community to represent them in processes under the Convention and to be provided with opportunities to effectively participate in the Convention processes.