Notification 2022-053

Dear Madam/Sir, Reference is made to notification 2022-002 (https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2022/ntf-2022-002-bbi-en.pdf) in which eligible institutions (https://www.cbd.int/biobridge/projects) from developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition were invited to submit to the Bio-Bridge Initiative proposals aimed at promoting technical and scientific cooperation among Parties to the Convention and its Protocols. I am pleased to announce that, after careful and comprehensive review of the 130 submissions received from 48 countries, 16 project proposals have been selected to receive funding from the Bio-Bridge Initiative. Please refer to the annex for the list of the selected projects. The assessment of the proposals was undertaken by the Secretariat and an external Project Review Panel based on the criteria that were set out in the notification. The Review Panel is comprised of the Chairs of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, the Chair of the Informal Advisory Committee to the Clearing-House Mechanism, the Co-Chairs of the Consortium of Scientific Partners, a representative from the Government of the Republic of Korea and a representative from the Global Environment Facility. The selected projects aim to promote exemplary technical and scientific cooperation approaches, particularly South-South and triangular cooperation, to address a variety of biodiversity-related issues and challenges. Brief descriptions of the projects are available at: https://www.cbd.int/biobridge/projects/selected. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Korea for providing the financial resources that will support these projects through the Bio-Bridge Initiative. I would also like to thank members of the Project Review Panel for committing their time to assess the proposals. Finally, I would like to thank all applicants who responded to the call for proposals and to encourage those who were unsuccessful this time round to try again when the next call is issued. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Annex Projects selected to receive support under the Bio-Bridge Initiative 1. Belarus: Enhancing Collaboration between the CEE and Central Asia’s Centres of Excellence to Address the Key Drivers of Biodiversity Loss and Maintain Human, Crop and Livestock Health 2. Brazil: Expanding the Invasive Alien Species Database Network in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Common Platform for Invasive Alien Species Management Contributing to the Achievement of SDG/2030 Agenda Target 8 and Aichi Target 9 3. Burundi: Project for the Valorization of Research Results (PVRR) through the Production of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens, Diptera, Stratyomyidae) for Use in Fish and Poultry Farming 4. Colombia: Enhancement of coral reef restoration efforts between Colombia’s Corales de Paz and Ecuador’s Conservación Marina Ecuador (CONMAR) - Corallium project 5. Ecuador: Potential Byproducts from the Harvesting of Introduced Plants at Galápagos Islands 6. Ecuador: Priming Bananas with Biodiversity-Derived Technologies to Combat Fusarium Tropical Race 4 7. Ethiopia: Selection of Best Performing Sorghum and its Wild Relatives PGPR and Documenting Related Local Communities’ Knowledge of Cropping System 8. Ghana: Comparing Community-Level Management and Use of Rangelands in Africa’s Savannahs for Improved Grazing Efficiency and Biodiversity Conservation: The Case of Ghana and Tanzania 9. India: Stewardship Development of Entrusted Networks and Strengthening Enforcement in South Asia and West Africa with Prime Focus of Safeguarding Pangolins 10. Jordan: Bat Biodiversity: Local Communities Engagement in Conservation of Ecosystems 11. Namibia: Land Restoration and Knowledge Management in Ohangwena and Kunene Regions of Namibia: In Attainment of the LDN and NDC Targets 12. South Africa: Regional Prosecutor Learning Exchanges as a Tool to Improve the Prosecution of Wildlife Crimes Across Southern Africa 13. Sri Lanka: Establishing a Data Driven Analytical Framework to Investigate the Nexus Between Biodiversity, Water Quality and Human Health in a Sub River Basin in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka 14. Tanzania: Elephant Monitoring and Human-Elephant Coexistence in the Mbarang’andu Wildlife Management Area – Ruvuma Tanzania 15. Uganda: Capacity Building and Regional Cooperation for Detection, Prevention and Management of Trans-Boundary Zoonotic Diseases at the Human-Wildlife-Livestock Interface Across Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan 16. Zimbabwe: Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the National Herbarium as an Information Hub for Plant Genetic Resources in Zimbabwe.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, ABS Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol Focal Points, SBSTTA National Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations