Notification 2012-063

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to circulate herewith the provisional agenda for the Capacity-building Workshop on Access and Benefit-sharing to be held from 30 June - 1 July 2012 at the Vigyan Bhavan Convention Center in New Delhi, India. Further information on the venue for the workshop can be found in the “Information Note for Participants” available on the following webpage: http://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=WCBABS-03. A detailed programme of the workshop will be made available in due course. The workshop will start at 10:00 am on Saturday, 30 June 2012, however please note that the registration for the workshop will open at 8:00 am at the meeting venue. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Capacity-building Workshop on Access and Benefit-sharing 30 June - 1 July 2012 - New Delhi, India BACKGROUND In paragraph 13 of decision X/1, the Executive Secretary was requested to provide technical assistance to Parties, subject to the availability of financial resources, to support the early ratification and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. In paragraph 14 of the same decision, the Conference of the Parties invited the Global Environment Facility to provide financial support to Parties to assist with the early ratification of the Nagoya Protocol and its implementation. Against this background, the GEF has provided financial support for a Medium Sized Project to support the early ratification and entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol. This project is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme and executed by the Secretariat and benefits from co-financing generously provided by the Government of Japan through the Japan Biodiversity Fund. In addition, at the 10th Conference of the Parties, the Secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further enhance collaboration in areas of mutual interest within their mandates, including the organisation of joint events on access and benefit-sharing. As part of the activities under the GEF Medium Sized Project and in collaboration with the Secretariat of the ITPGRFA, two capacity building workshops were held which focused on the identification of the capacity-building needs and priorities of Parties and indigenous and local communities in relation to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol (The first capacity-building workshop on Access and Benefit-sharing was held back to back with the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol, on 4-5 June 2011 and the second capacity-building workshop was held back to back with the Working Group on Article 8(j) on 29-30 October 2011.). This workshop will specifically aim at facilitating discussions, exchange of views and experiences in view of identifying possible capacity building strategies and options to address the needs and priorities of Parties in the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. The workshop is therefore meant to provide a platform for actors, both on the supply and demand side of capacity building, to exchange on the specific challenges and opportunities that they are facing in relation to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. The Open-ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol (Intergovernmental Committee) will consider at its second meeting measures to assist in capacity-building, capacity development and strengthening of human resources and institutional capacities in developing countries. With a view to inform discussions by the Intergovernmental Committee on this issue, the outcomes of the workshop will be transmitted to the Committee for its consideration. Capacity-building Workshop on Access and Benefit-sharing 30 June - 1 July 2012 - New Delhi, India PROVISIONAL AGENDA 1. Opening of the workshop. 2. Organizational matters. 3. Overview and discussion on capacity building and development initiatives and relevant tools in support of the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol: practical experiences and issues for consideration. 4. Identification of options and strategies for capacity building and development to support the effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. 5. Closure of the workshop.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD Focal Points, ICNP Focal Points and indigenous and local community organizations, copy to: Mr. Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the ITPGRFA