Notification 2023-008

Dear Madam/Sir, The purpose of this notification is to invite nominations from Parties for the Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. The Informal Advisory Committee was established by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (COP-MOP), at its first meeting, to provide advice to the Executive Secretary on matters of relevance to the assessment of the effectiveness of the strategic framework for capacity-building and development to support the effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol (decision NP-1/8). The Informal Advisory Committee consists of 15 experts selected by the Executive Secretary on the basis of nominations by Parties with due regard to equitable geographic representation and gender balance and also includes representatives of indigenous and local communities and relevant organizations (decision NP-1/8, annex II). At its fourth meeting, the COP-MOP decided to extend the mandate of the Informal Advisory Committee (IAC) until its fifth meeting and to expand its membership to include representatives of the business sector, the research community and youth (decision NP-4/7, paragraphs 4-5). Furthermore, in the same decision, the IAC is to hold one meeting, and online consultations, as needed to support the revision and updating of the strategic framework for capacity-building and development (paragraph 6). In light of the above, I am pleased to announce that the fifth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol is to be held from 20 to 22 June 2023 in Montreal, Canada. In addition, virtual meetings and consultations will likely be held prior to the meeting scheduled in June. Considering that a number of countries have become Parties to the Nagoya Protocol since the Informal Advisory Committee was first established, the composition of the Committee will be renewed for this intersessional period based on nominations from Parties to the Protocol. Accordingly, I wish to invite Parties to nominate one expert actively involved in ABS capacity-building and development to be considered for selection to the Informal Advisory Committee. The nomination should be submitted through an official letter, signed by the Access and Benefit-sharing National Focal Point or the CBD National Focal Point (where ABS National Focal Point has not been designated), together with the completed nomination form and the curriculum vitae of the nominee. In line with decision 14/33, nominees are also required to complete the interest disclosure form. (Available at: https://www.cbd.int/doc/forms/conflict-interest-form-en.pdf) The nomination should be scanned and e-mailed to secretariat@cbd.int as soon as possible but no later than 15 March 2023. Based on the nominations received, the Executive Secretary will select members of the Informal Advisory Committee taking into consideration their expertise and experience and the need to ensure equitable geographical distribution and gender balance. Further details on these activities will be provided in due course. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: ABS National Focal Points (or CBD National Focal Points where ABS Focal Points have not yet been designated), indigenous peoples and local communities, and relevant organizations