Decision COP X/10

The Conference of the Parties,

Re-emphasizing that national reporting is the obligation for all Parties under Article 26 of the Convention, and that timely submission of national reports by all Parties is essential for reviewing the implementation of the Convention as required in Article 23,

1.Adopts the guidelines for the fifth national report as contained in the annex to this decision, noting that these may be supplemented by additional guidance from its eleventh meeting;

2.Decides that all Parties should submit their fifth national report by 31 March 2014;

3.Encourages all Parties to prioritize the preparation of their fifth national report to enable its submission by the deadline established in paragraph 2 above, irrespective of the status of submission of reports requested at previous meetings of the Conference of the Parties;

4.Requests those Parties that expect difficulty in meeting the deadline set in paragraph 2 above to initiate the preparation of the report as early as possible to ensure that the report will be submitted by the deadline;

5.Requests the Global Environment Facility to provide adequate and timely financial support for the preparation of the fifth and future national reports, and further requests the Global Environment Facility and its implementing agencies to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure an early and expeditious disbursement of funds;

6.Invites other donors, Governments and multilateral and bilateral agencies to provide financial and technical support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, for preparing their national reports;

10.Decides that the fifth national report will use a narrative format where appropriate, combined with use of suggested tools, including tables, charts and questionnaires for statistical analysis, and that the format for the fifth and sixth national reports should be consistent to allow for long-term tracking of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

11.Encourages Parties to continue to involve all relevant stakeholders, including indigenous and local communities, in the process of national reporting, and to use the report as a tool for further planning and communication to the public to mobilize additional support for and participation in activities related to implementation of the Convention;

12.Encourages Parties to increase synergies in national reporting under biodiversity-related conventions to ensure that national reports comprehensively reflect the national situation and status of implementation, and to avoid unnecessary reporting burdens;

13.Welcomes the pilot project supported by the Global Environment Facility, and other relevant projects and initiatives, such as the project developed by the Australian Government in collaboration with the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, to facilitate integrated reporting processes and approaches in the least developed countries and small island developing States, which may provide important lessons for enhancing the reporting capacities of these countries;

14.Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and other partners, to continue facilitating the provision of support to countries, especially the developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, for the preparation of their fifth national reports;