Decision COP XII/2

A. Progress in revising/updating and implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans and submission of fifth national reports

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Japan and other donors for their most generous contribution to support developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, small island developing States and countries with economies in transition, in developing the capacity to review and, as appropriate, update and revise their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and to prepare their fifth national reports;

2. Expresses its gratitude to international organizations and convention secretariats, especially the Global Environment Facility and its implementing agencies, for their efforts in facilitating developing countries, in particular, the least developed countries, small island developing States and countries with economies in transition, to review and, as appropriate, update and revise their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and to prepare their fifth national reports;

3. Recalls decisions X/2, X/10 and XI/2 and XI/3, and commends those Parties and other Governments that have reviewed and, as appropriate, updated and revised their national biodiversity strategies and action plans in line with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, adopted relevant indicators, and submitted their fifth national reports;

4. Urges those Parties that have not yet done so, to review and, as appropriate, update and revise their national biodiversity strategies and action plans in line with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, to adopt indicators at the national level as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than October 2015, and to submit their fifth national reports;

5. Calls upon all Parties to continue and to accelerate the implementation of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans in order to contribute towards the mission, goals and targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

B. Enhancing support in implementing the objectives of the Convention and its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Provision of support for revising, updating and implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans and capacity-building

1. Invites Parties, other Governments, indigenous and local communities, relevant organizations and the business sector, as appropriate, to share information on their capacity building initiatives, including emerging best practices and lessons learned, and opportunities, as provided for in section 2, paragraph 11 (a) below;

2. Encourages developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, as well as indigenous and local communities, to make available information regarding their capacity-building needs and priorities identified through, inter alia, national, subnational and local capacity self-assessments, and to incorporate them in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans with respect to the implementation of the Convention as provided for in section 2, paragraph 10 below;

3. Encourages Parties, particularly developing country Parties, to ensure inclusion and enhancement of effective monitoring mechanisms in the current and future versions of their national biodiversity strategy and action plans with emphasis on identifying capacity-building needs and priorities as called for in paragraph 2 of this decision;

4. Encourages partners to support activities initiated at the national level to implement the national biodiversity strategies and action plans;

5. Invites Parties to establish and maintain programmes for scientific and technical education and training and societal participation for the identification, survey, monitoring, conservation, restoration, sustainable use of biodiversity and its components, and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition;

6. Encourages Parties, in accordance with their capabilities, to provide funding in the context of the above paragraphs;

7. Invites developed country Parties and donors to provide funding to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, for the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans as well as for capacity-building based on the information regarding capacity-building needs and priorities made available by the Parties;

8. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to availability of resources:

2. Technical and scientific cooperation and technology transfer

9. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with partners, taking into account and avoiding duplication with other efforts, such as those of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and subject to the availability of resources, to enhance technical and scientific cooperation and technology transfer under the Convention, with a view to supporting the effective implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as revised and updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans, by, inter alia:

10. Encourages developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, as well as indigenous and local communities, to make available information regarding their technical and scientific needs and priorities, and needs for technology transfer, and to make them available through the clearing-house mechanism;

11. Encourages Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations, stakeholders and other entities, taking into account and avoiding duplication with other efforts, to participate in and contribute to technical and scientific cooperation and technology transfer under the Convention, and in particular:

12. Invites developed country Parties, and others in a position to do so, to provide financial, technical and human resources to enable the further enhancement of technical and scientific cooperation and technology transfer among Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, as well as indigenous and local communities;

13. Welcomes with appreciation the proposed Bio-Bridge Initiative as an important contribution to the Pyeongchang Roadmap on enhancement of technical and scientific cooperation in the context of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets.

3. Clearing-house mechanism

Recalling decision IX/30, in which Parties are encouraged to take the necessary steps to establish strong and sustainable national clearing-house mechanisms, and Parties, other Governments, relevant agencies and other donors are invited to provide resources to enable developing country Parties to take those steps, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition,

Also recalling decision X/15, in which Parties are encouraged to continue to take the necessary steps to establish, strengthen and ensure the sustainability of national clearing-house mechanisms,

14. Invites Parties and other users to submit information through the central clearing-house mechanism and to provide user feedback whenever possible;

15. Strongly encourages Parties to accelerate the establishment and development of their national clearing-house mechanisms where they have not done so, and requests the Executive Secretary to propose, in collaboration with the informal advisory committee to the clearing-house mechanism, a process to grant, at the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties, subject to the availability of resources, an award to the Parties that have made the most significant progress in the establishment or further development of their national clearing-house mechanisms;

16. Invites Parties and partners to provide support to developing country Parties that are developing their national clearing-house mechanisms;

17. Invites Parties and donors to continue to provide financial support to establish and strengthen their national clearing-house mechanisms, including for content preparation, and for translation to facilitate the sharing of information and knowledge;

18. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to continue developing the information services of the central clearing-house mechanism, taking into account user feedback as well as recommendations from the informal advisory committee to the clearing-house mechanism, including:

19. Also requests the Executive Secretary to develop a web strategy to ensure that all information common or relevant to the clearing-house mechanism, the Access and Benefit sharing Clearing-House and the Biosafety Clearing-House, as well as other platforms developed under the Convention, such as the NBSAP Forum, the website for ecologically and biologically significant marine areas  and any future similar developments, can be accessed centrally to avoid duplication of efforts, and to provide this strategy to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, for its consideration at its first meeting, in preparation for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

C. Communication, education and public awareness and the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decision X/8, which called upon the United Nations General Assembly to declare the period 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, and the subsequent United Nations General Assembly resolution 65/161, which established it,

Recalling also decision XI/2, section D, and its calls for action in support of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity by the Executive Secretary and Parties,

Recalling further decision XI/14 B, paragraph 5, and its specific calls for action related to indigenous and local communities,

Recalling decision XI/2, paragraph 21, that encourages Parties to promote the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity in ways appropriate to national circumstances, for example, protection of Mother Earth, to create dialogues and to share experiences,

1. Invites Parties to promote public awareness of the values of biodiversity, including through the following actions that may be used flexibly according to national circumstances:

2. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to further promote awareness-raising, in collaboration with relevant actors, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in particular through the following activities:

3. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to availability of resources in carrying out the tasks outlined in paragraph 2 above, to promote the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholder groups, including, inter alia, indigenous and local communities, youth, women, business, and local and subnational authorities, taking into account the particular needs of developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, and Parties with economies in transition, and with this in mind, to continue to work in cooperation with established partners and initiatives, including the Commission for Education and Communication of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group of the Arctic Council, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, other relevant agencies of the United Nations system and others, and to also work with networks involving cities and their associated networks of partners, such as natural history museums, botanical gardens, zoos and aquariums, as well as networks of citizen groups that encompass the abovementioned stakeholder groups;

4. Invites the Executive Secretary, subject to availability of resources, to facilitate the organization of an interactive dialogue on living in harmony with nature at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and invites the United Nations General Assembly to make available to the Conference of the Parties at its thirteenth meeting the outcomes of the interactive dialogue on Harmony with Nature of the United Nations General Assembly.