Notification 2015-079

Dear Madam/Sir, The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), at its twelfth meeting, requested the Executive Secretary to report to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) prior to the thirteenth meeting of the COP, on a number of matters related to invasive alien species, specifically: (i) Exploration of ways and means to address the risks associated with trade in wildlife introduced as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, and as live bait and live food (paragraph 4 of decision XII/16); (ii) Methods of alerting suppliers and potential buyers to the risk posed by invasive alien species sold via e-commerce (paragraph 9 (d) of decision XII/17); (iii) Synthesis on information from Parties, scientific institutions, and other relevant organizations, on experiences in the use of biological control agents against invasive alien species, in particular the release in the wild of alien species for this purpose (paragraph 9 (g) of decision XII/17); and (iv) Development of decision-support tools for assessing and evaluating the social, economic and ecological consequences of invasive alien species; cost-benefit analyses for eradication, management and control measures; and tools for examining the impacts of climate change and land-use change on biological invasions (paragraph 9 (c) of decision XII/17). In preparation for the twentieth meeting of the SBSTTA, to be held in April 2016 in Montreal, Canada, and with the generous support from the Governments of Germany and Sweden, I am pleased to announce that the Secretariat of the CBD is organizing the above mentioned expert meeting to be held from 28 to 30 October 2015. For financial efficiency and reduction of carbon footprint, the meeting is being held back-to-back with the nineteenth meeting of the SBSTTA in Montreal, Canada. Parties, other Governments, scientific institutions and other relevant organizations are hereby invited to nominate experts from their respective countries or regions. Nominees should be relevant authorities, e.g. CITES authorities, and/or experts with appropriate experience and involvement in the control, management and eradication of invasive alien species. Nominations should be submitted through an official letter of nomination addressed to the Executive Secretary and should be accompanied by the attached nomination form. Both documents should be sent via e-mail at secretariat@cbd.int, or by fax at + 1 514 288 6588 no later than 31 August 2015. Based on the nominations received, the Executive Secretary will select the experts on the basis of the criteria mentioned in the preceding paragraph, taking also into account their participation in SBSTTA-19. In order to prepare for this expert meeting, the Secretariat issued notification 2015-052 (http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2015/ntf-2015-052-ias-en.doc ) on 5 May 2015, requesting Parties to submit information on invasive alien species management relating to paragraphs (i)-(iv) above. I take this opportunity to remind Parties that the deadline for submission of this information is 5 September 2015. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points, relevant organizations