Notification 2013-099

Dear Madam/Sir, Further to notifications 2013-008, and 2013-036, issued respectively on 31 January and 13 May 2013, and following the generous financial contributions from the Governments of the Republic of Korea and Norway, the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Socio-economic Considerations will now be convened in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 17 - 21 February 2014. Pursuant to paragraph 4 of decision BS-VI/13, the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Socio-economic Considerations is expected to examine: (i) the outcomes of the online forums that were held throughout March and April of 2013 and the four regional online real-time conferences that took place in June 2013; and (ii) the compilation and review of information on socio-economic considerations (global overview) that the Executive Secretary has commissioned, in order to develop conceptual clarity on socio-economic considerations arising from the impact of living modified organisms on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, especially with regard to the value of biological diversity to indigenous and local communities. The report of the Expert Group will be submitted for consideration by the seventh meeting of the COP-MOP with a view to enabling the meeting to deliberate and decide upon appropriate further steps towards fulfilling operational objective 1.7 of the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2011-2020) and its outcomes, in a manner that provides flexibility to take into account the situations in different countries. Accordingly, I am pleased to invite Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous and local communities to nominate one expert for consideration and selection to the meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group. In consultation with the COP-MOP Bureau, the Secretariat will select experts to the meeting, in accordance with the terms of reference specified in the Annex to decision BS-VI/13 and the applicable rules of procedure for meetings under the Protocol. As specified earlier in notification 2013-036, participation in the regional real-time online conferences will be taken into consideration in the selection of experts. Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretariat will cover the cost of selected experts from eligible Parties. This includes an economy class ticket to and from Seoul, Republic of Korea and daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for the duration of the meeting. In order to enable the Secretariat to finalize arrangements in time, you are kindly requested to submit your nominations as soon as possible but no later than 6 December 2013. Nominations must be submitted through an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary. The letter may be sent by fax to +1 514 288 6588, or by e-mail as a scanned attachment to: secretariat@cbd.int. Please note that the working language of the meeting will be English. Documents for the meeting including the global overview commissioned by the Secretariat will be made available soon on the Secretariat’s website: www.cbd.int. Further details on the meeting will also be made available in due course. I would like to thank you for your kind cooperation and continued support for the work under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety National Focal Points, CBD National Focal Points (where CPB focal points have not yet been designated), Relevant Organizations