Notification 2016-141

Dear Madam/Sir, Pursuant to paragraph 5 of decision XI/16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Secretariat, in collaboration with the Government of Morocco and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is organizing a capacity-building workshop for the Mediterranean on the restoration of forests and other ecosystems to support the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15 (See https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets ), to be held from 20 to 24 March 2017 in Agadir, Morocco. The workshop is planned in cooperation with the Organizing Committee (Members of the Organizing Committee: The Haut Commissariat aux eaux et forêts et à la lutte contre la désertification and the Ministry of Environment of the Government of Morocco; FAO; Silva Mediterranea Secretariat; the Mediterranean Regional Office of the European Forest Institute; International Association for Mediterranean Forests; Plan Bleu; Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, The Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia; and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation.) of the Fifth Mediterranean Forest Week, which is focused on the restoration of Mediterranean forests and landscapes. This capacity building event will be conducted through a mix of plenary and practical sessions led by the CBD Secretariat and experts from other agencies, and will be conducted in English with interpretation into and from Arabic and French. Workshop documents will be posted on the CBD website at https://www.cbd.int/meetings/ and other information is also available on the website of the Fifth Mediterranean Forest Week at http://www.5.medforestweek.org/. This workshop is one of a series being organized as part of the implementation of the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI) by the CBD Secretariat through the generous financial assistance of the Korea Forest Service of the Government of the Republic of Korea. The FERI was welcomed by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD at its twelfth meeting through decision XII/19, paragraph 5. The Secretariat plans to offer capacity-building activities to Parties within an integrated and participatory approach to planning and implementation at the landscape level. The overall aim of the workshop is to support Parties in developing and implementing national plans on ecosystem restoration, including with a focus on forests towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15 and related targets. In this connection, I am pleased to invite your Government to nominate one representative to participate in this workshop, as soon as possible but not later than 19 December 2016. Nominees from eligible countries will receive financing from the CBD Secretariat to facilitate their participation. Nominations should be submitted using the attached nomination form (Annex I) accompanied by an official letter of nomination, the completed HR Mini Master Request Form to expedite registration (Annex II), and a scanned photocopy of the nominee’s national passport to secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to +1 514 288 6588. Please note that passports must be valid for six months after travel. Towards the aim identified, the workshop will enable: (a) Review of national commitments and their stages of implementation; (b) Learning about best practices from experts in the field, including on approaches taken to incorporate biodiversity into national plans and frameworks for implementation; © Review of relevant global and regional initiatives and relevant tools in support of country commitments; (d) South-South exchange of experiences and knowledge; and € Exploring opportunities for resource mobilization. Parties are requested to use the following criteria when determining their nominations. The nominee should: (a) Have a level of responsibility for making decisions on land use/spatial planning for biodiversity/agriculture/water resources/restoration; (b) Be in a position to follow up on national commitments and actions including at CBD meetings such as the thirteenth meeting of the COP; and © Be in a position to translate the knowledge gained into concrete cross-sectoral actions to enhance policy and planning coherence with forest sector representatives. In order to take stock of progress and activities being carried out by countries, the Secretariat has developed a detailed questionnaire for country representatives to be completed online by 15 January 2017. There are four sections to this questionnaire; sections 1 and 4 are mandatory, and instructions are noted in each section. • Section 1: Diagnosis of causes and actions to address them (priority section - 17 questions) • Section 2: Linkages to climate change mitigation and adaptation (5 questions) • Section 3: Assessment of state and trends of natural ecosystems (15 questions) • Section 4: Target setting (priority section - 9 questions) The questionnaire is also available in French at these links: • Section 1: Diagnostic des causes et des actions pour y remédier (priorité – 17 questions) • Section 2: Liens avec les objectifs d’atténuation et d’adaptation aux changements climatiques (5 questions) • Section 3: Évaluation de l’état et les tendances des écosystèmes naturels (15 questions) • Section 4: Établissement d’objectifs (priorité – 9 questions) I look forward to receiving your nominations and I thank you for your cooperation and continued support for the work of the Convention. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, European Union, France, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom (Gibraltar), and Yemen