Notification 2014-103

Dear Madam/Sir, The Secretariat is pleased to forward to you the invitation sent from the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Mr. Yoon Seongkyu, addressed to the Ministers responsible for the Convention on Biological Diversity, to attend the High-level Segment (HLS) of the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The HLS will be held from 15 to 16 October 2014 in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea. The draft programme for the two-day event and the registration form for the HLS are attached herewith, together with the draft text of the “Gangwon Declaration on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”, which the HLS may wish to adopt. Confirmation of attendance HLS should be sent to Ms. Hyunjoo Lee in the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea at: HLS@cbdcop12.kr. Furthermore, I would like to draw to your attention on an important High-level event on the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI), scheduled to be held on 16 October 2014 in parallel with a session of the HLS on Biodiversity, Climate Change and the Creative Economy. Please find attached the invitation letter sent by the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries which provides more details. In the event that the Minister intends to attend this session, confirmation of attendance should be sent to Ms. Seulgi Lee in the Korea Maritime Institute at: soireg2014@gmail.com. Please be informed that a Press Centre will be made available to all Heads of States and Governments who may wish to launch initiatives or to give press interviews. All requests should be submitted directly to Mr. David Ainsworth, Information Officer, at david.ainsworth@cbd.int, who will be responsible for scheduling all press events. In addition, building on the success of our previous COPs, a series of parallel events and side events will, once again, be taking place for the duration of the up-coming meeting. A brief description of these events is attached herewith, for ease of reference. Although the Government of the Republic of Korea has disseminated the invitation to the HLS through its diplomatic channels, we would greatly appreciate if you could also ensure that the enclosed invitations are brought to the kind attention of your respective Ministers. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points