Notification 2014-139

Dear Madam/Sir, In its decision BS-V/16, the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted a Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2011-2020) and invited Parties and other Governments to review and align, as appropriate, their relevant national plans and programmes, including the national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) with the Strategic Plan and mobilize adequate human and financial resources to expedite its implementation. Pursuant to that decision, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in collaboration with the Government of Mongolia, is organizing the Asia Regional Capacity-Building Workshop on Mainstreaming Biosafety into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and Resource Mobilization to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 9 to 13 February 2015. The workshop is funded by the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity Fund. The goal of the workshop is to enhance the capacity of Parties in the Asia region to advance the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and its Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress by effectively integrating biosafety into NBSAPs and national development plans, in line with the Strategic Plan for the Protocol and the relevant Aichi Biodiversity Targets. It also aims to increase the capacity of Parties to identify and mobilize sufficient and predictable resources for the implementation of the Protocol and facilitate public awareness, education and participation concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs). The workshop will also enable participants to identify opportunities and means to foster regional cooperation. Specifically, it is expected that at the end of the workshop, participants would be able to: (a) Identify ways, means and opportunities to improve the integration of biosafety into NBSAPs and national development plans; (b) Define strategies for mobilization of additional resources to support the implementation of the Protocol and how to incorporate them into the national resource mobilization plans being developed in the context of the NBSAP revision process, taking into account the Strategy for Resource Mobilization in support of the achievement of the three objectives of the Convention; (c) Identify good practices and lessons learned in the implementation of the programme of work on public awareness, education and participation concerning LMOs and how the implementation of the programme of work contributes to the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Target 1; and (d) Describe the objective and core requirements of the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress and identify measures that could be taken at the national level to ratify and implement the Supplementary Protocol. Accordingly, I have the pleasure to invite Parties from the Asia region to nominate participants involved in the development and implementation of national biosafety measures and/or the process for the review/update and implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, preferably the NBSAP Coordinators, to take part in the workshop. Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretariat will cover the cost of participation of one official nominee from each eligible Party. This will include an economy class ticket to travel to and from Ulaanbaatar, and daily subsistence for the duration of the workshop. Parties may wish to nominate one additional participant (the CBD Focal Point, the NBSAP Coordinator or another relevant official dealing with the NBSAP) to attend the workshop at their own cost. In order to enable the Secretariat to finalize arrangements for the workshop, nominations should be submitted through an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary by fax to +1 514 288 6588, or by e-mail at secretariat@cbd.int as soon as possible but no later than 16 January 2015. The workshop will be conducted in English only. Details on the workshop will be made available in due course on the Secretariat’s website at http://www.cbd.int. I would like to thank you for your kind cooperation and continued support of the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points for: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, DPR Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam, cc: National Focal Points for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety