Notification 2019-036

Dear Madam/Sir, I have the pleasure to inform you that the Secretariat will convene the CBD Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean, from 23 to 27 September 2019, preceded by a training session on EBSAs on 22 September, in Stockholm, Sweden. The workshop will be hosted by the Government of Sweden and organized in collaboration with the OSPAR Commission and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), with financial support from the Governments of Sweden, Germany, France and Denmark. This workshop is being convened pursuant to decision X/29, in which the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity requested the Executive Secretary to organize a series of regional workshops with a primary objective to facilitate the description of EBSAs through application of the scientific criteria in annex I of decision IX/20, and decision 14/9, in which the COP invited Parties to submit descriptions of areas that meet the criteria for EBSAs in the North-East Atlantic. Governments in the region, as well as relevant global and regional organizations/initiatives, are therefore invited to nominate experts who can participate in this workshop and provide scientific information in support of the workshop’s objectives, both prior to and during the workshop. Please note that this is a scientific and technical workshop in which participants will be expected to analyze detailed scientific information related to the workshop objectives, in collaboration with other workshop participants. Participants should be scientists or individuals able to understand and interpret scientific data, and should have access to relevant ecological and biological data on marine ecosystems, habitats and species, and/or physical, oceanographic and geological data, and should have strong scientific knowledge of this region, in particular. As such, the selection of experts will be based on scientific and technical expertise and experience, taking into account the guidance of COP in decisions X/29, XI/17, XII/22 and XIII/12, as well as gender balance, and will be carried out using the following criteria: a. Good scientific knowledge and research experience related to describing ecologically or biologically significant marine areas through the application of the scientific criteria in annex I of decision IX/20 as well as other relevant compatible and complementary nationally and intergovernmentally agreed scientific criteria; b. Good scientific knowledge and experience related to the application of scientific guidance on the application of EBSA criteria (annex VI, UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/14/INF/4); and c. Good scientific knowledge and experience related to developing and applying biogeographic classification systems of open-ocean waters and deep-sea habitats. Prior to the workshop, experts will be asked to provide relevant scientific and technical information, in collaboration with relevant scientists within their respective countries, to support the workshop discussions. A notification requesting the submission of scientific information will be issued separately. For examples of documentation from previous EBSA workshops, including data reports, compilations of submissions and workshop reports, please see the information available at the following link: https://www.cbd.int/ebsa/meetings?tab=previous. Documents for this workshop will be forwarded to the selected experts and posted on the CBD website in due course. The workshop will be conducted in English. Governments in the region are invited to nominate two experts to participate in this workshop; relevant global and regional organizations and initiatives are invited to nominate one expert to participate. Nominations should include the name and full contact details of the nominee/s and should be submitted via an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary and signed, respectively, by the National Focal Point or head of the organization/initiative. All nominations must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae clearly indicating the areas of expertise and experience of the nominee. Nominations should be sent as soon as possible, but no later than 31 May 2019, via e-mail to secretariat@cbd.mt or via fax to +1 514 288-6588. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points and Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Focal Points in the North-East Atlantic region (Belgium, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); indigenous peoples and local communities; OSPAR Commission; NEAFC; International Council for the Exploration of the Sea; and other relevant global and regional organizations/initiatives