Notification 2013-057

Dear Madam/Sir, As you may know, the seventeenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 17) will be held at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Headquarters in Montreal, Canada, from 14 to 18 October 2013, back-to-back with the eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8J 8), which will be held from 7 to 11 October 2013. The Secretariat encourages Governments and partner Organizations to organize side-events for SBSTTA 17 which further enrich the discussions on items on the agenda of this meeting. Requests should be made using the online side-event submission system available on the Secretariat’s web site at: http://www.cbd.int/register/home.shtml. The deadline for the receipt of requests is 10 September 2013. Requests received after the deadline will not be considered. Kindly note that preference will be given to side-events which are of direct relevance to the issues under discussion at the SBSTTA-17 meeting, which will focus on facilitating the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets through scientific and technical means, i.e.: (a) Policy support tools and methodologies developed or used under the Convention and their adequacy, impact and gaps; (b) The adequacy of observations, and of data systems, for monitoring the biodiversity attributes addressed in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the use and development of indicators for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets; (c) New and emerging issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity (only proposals made since the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties for new and emerging issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity will be addressed at SBSTTA 17); (d) Scientific and technical needs related to the implementation of the Strategic Plan and to each of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets; and (e) Assessing the effects of the types of measures taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. If the number of applications exceeds the number of available slots, the number of requests per Government or Observer Organization will be reconsidered. Partners may be encouraged to co-organize events of a similar topic. Subject to availability of rooms and provided that side-event requests are received before the set deadline, meeting rooms, equipped with LCD projectors and computers/laptops, for PowerPoint presentations, are provided at no cost to the side-event organizers. However, there may be a cost to the organizers when an event is scheduled in a room that does not already contain the required equipment. Should this be the case, organizers will be notified accordingly. It should be noted that side-events may be rescheduled depending on official sessions of the meeting. Should such a situation occur, it is the responsibility of side events organizers to advise the caterer accordingly. The list of side-event requests, once processed by the CBD, will be made available on the SBSTTA 17 page of the Secretariat’s website. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points and International Organizations