X/25.Additional guidance to the financial mechanism

1.Decides to provide the following additional guidance to the Global Environment Facility in the provision of financial resources, in accordance with Article 20 and Article 21, paragraph 1 of the Convention and in conformity with the previous decisions of the Conference of the Parties, as consolidated in decision X/24. In this regard, the Global Environment Facility should provide financial resources to developing country Parties, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and countries that are most environmentally vulnerable, as well as Parties with economies in transition, for country-driven activities and programmes, consistent with national priorities and objectives and in accordance with the mandate of the Global Environment Facility, recognizing that economic and social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities of developing countries, and taking fully into consideration of the consolidated guidance to the financial mechanism and other relevant decisions from the Conference of the Parties;

2.Requests the Global Environment Facility to provide adequate and timely financial support for the updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and related enabling activities, and requests the Global Environment Facility and its implementing agencies to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure an expeditious disbursement of funds;

3.Recalling its "Four-year framework of programme priorities related to utilization of GEF resources for biodiversity for the period from 2010 to 2014" proposed in decision IX/31 and noting that objective 5 of the GEF-5 Biodiversity Focal Area Strategy is to "Integrate CBD obligations into national planning processes through enabling activities", requests the Global Environment Facility to provide support to eligible Parties in a expeditious manner, for revising their national biodiversity strategies and action plans in line with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;

4.Urges Parties, in particular developed country Parties, and invites other Governments and international financial institutions, the Global Environment Facility, regional development banks, and other multilateral financial institutions to provide adequate, predictable and timely financial support to eligible country Parties to enable the full implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and reiterate that the extent to which developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under this Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed country Parties of their commitments under this Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology;

5.In accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, invites developed country Parties, other Governments and donors, and the financial mechanism to provide financial and technical support to eligible countries to further develop approaches on the integration of biodiversity into poverty eradication and development processes;

6.Requests the Global Environment Facility to provide timely and adequate financial support to updating national biodiversity strategies and action plans, which may include the development of country-specific resource mobilization strategies;

7.Further recognizing that taxonomic capacity is crucial for the implementation of all relevant articles and work programmes of the Convention and that the taxonomic capacity to inventory and monitor biodiversity, including the use of new technologies, such as DNA barcoding and other relevant information technology is not adequate in many parts of the world, requests the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and invites Parties, other Governments, and other international and funding organizations to continue to provide funding for GTI proposals;

8.Requests the Global Environment Facility to provide support to respond to the capacity needs of eligible Parties in developing national targets and monitoring frameworks in the context of updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans;

9.Invites Parties, other Governments, and funding organizations to provide adequate, timely and sustainable support to the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, especially by eligible countries; and invites the financial mechanism to consider strengthening the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation in its country-driven activities;

10.Recalling paragraph 1 of its decision IX/18 B, further urges Parties, in particular developed country Parties, and invites other Governments and international financial institutions including the Global Environment Facility, the regional development banks, and other multilateral financial institutions to provide the adequate, predictable and timely financial support, to eligible countries to enable the full implementation of the programme of work on protected areas;

11.Urges the Global Environment Facility and its Implementing Agencies to streamline their delivery for expeditious and proportionate disbursement and to align the projects to national action plans for the programme of work on protected areas for appropriate, focused, sufficient and harmonious interventions of projects;

12.Invites the Global Environment Facility, international funding institutions and development agencies and relevant non-governmental organizations, where requested, and in accordance with their mandates and responsibilities, to consider providing assistance to indigenous and local communities, particularly women, to raise their awareness and to build capacity and understanding regarding the elements of the code of ethical conduct;

13.Invites the Global Environment Facility to provide financial support to Parties to assist with the early ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its implementation;

14.Recalling the importance, as underlined in the preamble to decision VIII/12, of developing specific approaches to technology transfer and technological and scientific cooperation to address the prioritized needs of countries based on the priorities in national biodiversity strategies and action plans and to link technology needs assessments to those priorities, while avoiding non-specific, global approaches to this issue, invites funding institutions, including the Global Environment Facility, to provide financial support to the preparation of such technology needs assessments;

15.Requests that the Executive Secretary and the Global Environment Facility cooperate to facilitate access to funding for the clearing-house mechanism as a key component to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, as well as the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans;

16.Invites the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to consider establishing a South-South biodiversity cooperation trust fund for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 based on voluntary contributions;

17.Requests the Global Environment Facility to provide adequate and timely financial support for the preparation of the fifth and future national reports, and further requests the Global Environment Facility and its implementing agencies to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure an early and expeditious disbursement of funds;

18.Invites the Global Environment Facility and other donors and funding agencies, as appropriate, to consider extending support for capacity-building to eligible countries, in order to implement decision X/29, and in particular, with respect to the invitation in paragraph 38 of decision X/29;

19.Invites the Global Environment Facility and other donors and funding agencies as appropriate to extend support for capacity-building to eligible countries, in order to identify ecologically or biologically significant and/or vulnerable marine areas in need of protection, as called for in paragraph 18 of decision IX/20 and develop appropriate protection measures in these areas, within the context of paragraphs 36 and 37 of decision X/29;

20.Urges the Global Environment Facility to:

21.Invites the Global Environment Facility to consult with the Executive Secretary on ways and means to better inform its Implementing Agencies about decisions made by the Conference of the Parities on biodiversity and climate change, especially those related to enhancing cooperation between the Rio conventions, in order to facilitate the Parties efforts pursuant to such decisions;

22.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of financial resources to: