Notification 2018-055

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that the Government of Egypt, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the African Union, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, and other partners, will convene an African Biodiversity Summit to be held on 13 November 2018 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, prior to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference. The theme of the Summit is “Land and ecosystem degradation and restoration: Priorities for increased resilience in Africa”. Invitations to ministers of the African region will be issued by the Government of Egypt in due course. Initial consultations on the summit and its preparations will be held in Montreal on 1 July 2018, on the margins of the twenty-second meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA). These consultations will be convened by the Government of Egypt and the Commission of the African Union and coordinated by UN Environment and the CBD Secretariat. The consultations will benefit from discussions at the workshop held on the previous day, June 30, on the findings of the regional assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services for Africa and the thematic assessment of land degradation and restoration of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (see notification 2018-042 issued 25 April 2018 for more information). A technical workshop is also being planned to prepare for the summit. It is expected that this workshop will be held in the period August-October 2018, subject to the confirmation of availability of funds. More information will follow. Participation in the consultations in Montreal is open to country-nominated participants from the African region who are registered for SBSTTA 22. Interested participants should send a letter to the Secretariat by e-mail at: secretariat@cbd.int or by fax at: +1 (514) 288-6588, as soon as possible. Participants who are already registered for the workshop on 30 June 2018 may simply indicate their interest to also participate in the consultations to be held on 1 July. Subject to the availability of resources, a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for one day will be provided, for delegates from eligible countries on a first-come-first-served basis and with focus on delegates already in receipt of support from the CBD Secretariat to participate in SBSTTA 22; no additional travel support is required. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD and SBSTTA National Focal Points of the African region