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SBSTTA 16 Recommendation XVI/2

XVI/2.Considerations for the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
1.Takes note of the conclusions of the evaluation of the process for the preparation and impacts of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/1) and requests the Executive Secretary to ensure they are taken into account in the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;
2.Also takes note of the plan for the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4) contained in the note by the Executive Secretary on the subject (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/3) and emphasizes that:
(a)GBO-4 should provide a mid-term assessment of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;
(b)GBO-4 should address:
(i) The possible policy responses that could be effective in contributing to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;
(ii) The level of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (considering both national commitments, plans and targets adopted by Parties; and the level of implementation on the ground);
(iii) How achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets would contribute to the 2050 vision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;
(iv) How progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets contributes to the Millennium Development Goals and their 2015 targets;
(c)GBO-4 should be easy to understand and accessible to a variety of different audiences and will consist of several products, to be released at key events starting with the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties; the content will draw on available information from a range of sources, including available information provided by Parties;
3.Requests the Executive Secretary to:
(a)Notify relevant partners and potential contributors, including the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network, and DIVERSITAS among others, about the time table for preparing the various elements and products of the fourth edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook and invites those organizations to make available scientific information in accordance with the scope and production process contained in the note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/3);
(b)Initiate preparations on the basis of this plan, taking into account the comments made during the sixteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice;
(c)Provide the SBSTTA Bureau with regular reports on progress in preparing GBO-4 with a view to enabling the Bureau to provide oversight of the preparation process;
(d)Establish, in accordance with the guidance on the composition of expert groups contained in the consolidated modus operandi of SBSTTA (decision VIII/10, annex III), an advisory group for the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, in order to provide guidance of the preparation process of GBO-4 at the earliest possible time, and to review and provide advice on data and methodology standards, development plans and outputs, quality assurance and the inclusion of case-studies;
(e)Ensure that the advisory group and the SBSTTA Bureau, in overseeing and guiding the preparation of GBO-4, make the best use of available resources, including by consultations through electronic means and meetings at the margins of other relevant events;
(f)Explore, in collaboration with the advisory group and the SBSTTA Bureau, ways in which the activities of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services could build on and contribute to the fourth edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook, as well as other future assessments of the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, with a view to minimizing duplication of effort and information and maximizing complementarity between the two processes, as appropriate and in accordance with the mandates of SBSTTA and IPBES;
(g)Share the evaluation of GBO-3 and the plans for GBO-4 with the interim secretariat of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for consideration in the further elaboration of the IPBES work programme;
(h)Seek the help of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership in updating indicators used in GBO-3 and in preparing new indicators to support the goals and targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;
(i)Provide a progress report on the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
4.Recommends that the Conference of the Parties, at its eleventh meeting, adopts a decision along the following lines:
The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling paragraph 13 of decision X/2 that the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook shall be prepared to provide a mid-term review of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including an analysis of how the implementation of the Convention and Strategic Plan has contributed to the 2015 targets of the Millennium Development Goals,
Also recalling paragraphs 5 and 6 of decision X/10, which, inter alia, requests the Global Environment Facility and invites other donors, Governments and multilateral and bilateral agencies to provide adequate and timely financial support for the preparation of the fifth national reports,
1.Takes note of the progress report on the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook provided to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
2.Stressing the importance of national reports and their timely submission to the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook and recalling Decision X/10, urges Parties to submit their fifth national reports by 31 March 2014 at the latest;
3.Urges Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations, including indigenous and local communities, to make available data, information and case studies,for possible inclusion in the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, including by using appropriate indicator frameworks, drawing on, inter alia, the flexible framework and the indicative list of indicators identified in the annex to SBSTTA recommendation XV/1 1, on the status and trends of and threats to biological diversity, drivers of biodiversity loss and the measures to address them, and progress in the implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, by providing such information in their fifth national reports or through earlier submissions, making use, as appropriate, of the material already available on the Biodiversity Indicator Partnership web pages;
4.Encourages Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to support Parties in providing data relevant to the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;
5.Welcomes the early financial pledges by the European Union and Switzerland to facilitate the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;
6.Urges Parties and invites other Governments and donors to make timely financial contributions for the preparation and production of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook and its ancillary products, including translations in all United Nations languages, in accordance with the work plan and budget estimates for its preparation;
7.Requests the Executive Secretary to:
(a)Continue collaborating with other biodiversity-related conventions and other relevant processes, including IPBES and other organizations and partners, including of indigenous and local communities, and to engage them in the preparations of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates;
(b)Keep the work plan, communication strategy and financial plan for the development of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook under review in consultation with the SBSTTA Bureau in order to make adjustments as appropriate and necessary and to report on progress through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention on a periodic basis;
(c)Further develop, in collaboration with relevant partners, including with the Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity, and in line with the programme of work on communication, education and public awareness, the communication strategy for the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, including capacity building activities on the use of the outcomes and products of GBO-4, seeking synergies with activities under the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 and other initiatives and events as appropriate;
(d)Provide guidance on the type of information that Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, including indigenous and local communities, may wish to provide for possible inclusion in the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, and, in particular, highlight key information needs in the resource manual for the preparation of the fifth national reports, encouraging Parties to submit this key information early;
(e)Make use of relevant regional and subregional capacity-building workshops organized under the Convention to facilitate inputs and contributions to the preparation of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;
(f)Make a draft of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook available for review at a meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
1The reference to SBSTTA recommendation XV/1 may be updated following consideration of this recommendation at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

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