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Decision COP XIII/3

CBD/COP/DEC/XIII/3

Strategic actions to enhance the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, including with respect to mainstreaming and the integration of biodiversity within and across sectors

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling Article 6(b) of the Convention, which requires Contracting Parties to integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies,

Also recalling paragraph 19 of United Nations General Assembly resolution 65/161, in which the General Assembly declared 2011-2020 the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity,

Further recalling paragraphs 10(a) and (b) of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020,1 which call for initiating action to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss through mainstreaming and for decreasing the direct pressures on biodiversity by engagement of key sectors,

Recalling decision XII/1, paragraph 7(c), in which Parties noted that the attainment of most of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets will require the implementation of a package of actions, typically including: legal or policy frameworks; socioeconomic incentives aligned with such frameworks; public and stakeholder engagement; monitoring; and enforcement; while ensuring the coherence of policies across sectors and corresponding government ministries,

Recognizing that integrating biodiversity considerations into sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and programmes at all levels is critical for harnessing the benefits of enhanced synergies and policy coherence, and recalling decision X/30, paragraph 9, and decision X/44, paragraph 12,

Also recognizing:

(a) The opportunities that arise from an integrated and mutually supportive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,2 the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020,3 the 10-year strategic plan and framework to enhance implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (2008-2018),4 and the Reviewed Strategic Framework 2010-2019 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations5 for the achievement of internationally agreed goals and targets, bearing in mind the national policies and circumstances of countries and the different visions and approaches of countries to achieve sustainable development as referred to in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, “The future we want”;

(b) The role and relevance of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, as well as the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, in contributing to sustainable food systems and agriculture;

(c) That agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, among other sectors, depend heavily on biodiversity and its components, as well as on the ecosystem functions and services that they underpin, that these sectors also impact on biodiversity through various direct and indirect drivers, and that the consequent loss of biodiversity can impact these sectors negatively, potentially threatening food security and nutrition and the provision of ecosystem functions and services that are vital to humanity;

(d) That the benefits from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, to biodiversity conservation can be significant beyond biodiversity for food and agriculture, particularly in the case of traditional communities and indigenous peoples;

Recalling decision V/6 and decision VII/11, in which it recommended that Parties and other Governments promote the application of the ecosystem approach in all sectors with potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems,

Recognizing that mainstreaming of biodiversity across forests, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, among other sectors, is essential for halting the loss of biodiversity and achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets,

Recalling that relevant guidance in this regard is provided in the programmes of work under the Convention, in particular the programmes of work on agricultural biodiversity, forest biodiversity and marine and coastal biodiversity

Noting the relevance of the Plan of Action on Customary Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in enabling indigenous peoples and local communities to further address biodiversity considerations in agriculture, forests, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism,

Recognizing that fundamental changes in consumption and production patterns to ensure sustainable production methods, as well as mutually supportive policy, legal, technical and financial measures in the agriculture, forests, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, among other sectors, are critical to meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,

Also recognizing that Sustainable Development Goal 15, target 9, calls for integration of ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts,

Recalling the Chennai Guidance for Implementation of the Integration of Biodiversity and Poverty Eradication,

Recalling also paragraph 59 of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, which states that “We recognize that there are different approaches, visions, models and tools available to each country, in accordance with its national circumstances and priorities, to achieve sustainable development; and we reaffirm that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our common home and that “Mother Earth” is a common expression in a number of countries and regions”,

Welcoming the first edition of the Local Biodiversity Outlooks,

Recognizing that the ecosystem functions and services generated in protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures contribute to the productivity of many sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, and that collaboration with these sectors is required in order to increase connectivity in and among systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and to avoid or minimize potential adverse impacts of these sectors on these systems,

Also recognizing that indigenous peoples and local communities and traditional agriculture, forestry, fisheries and community-based tourism make important contributions to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets,

Further recognizing that other sectors, including such extractive industries as oil and gas and mining, as well as manufacturing and commercial and residential construction, have the potential to impact adversely on biodiversity,

Recognizing the importance of engaging with all relevant stakeholders, including the business sector, and with indigenous peoples and local communities, to achieve the objectives of the Convention,

Also recognizing the need for engaging all levels and sectors of government to achieve the objectives of the Convention,

Taking into account the report and the conclusions of the International Expert Workshop on Biodiversity Mainstreaming held in Mexico City from 17 to 19 November 2015, and expressing appreciation to the Government of Mexico for hosting the workshop and to the Government of Switzerland for its support,

1. Welcomes the Cancun Declaration on mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for well-being,11 adopted during the high-level segment of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, 2016, where ministers and other heads of delegation committed to integrating, in a structured and coherent manner, actions for the conservation, sustainable use, management and restoration of biological diversity and ecosystem services in sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and programmes, as well as in legal and administrative measures and budgets;

2. Urges Parties and invites other Governments to strengthen their efforts to mainstream conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within and across various sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism at all levels and scales, including by involving relevant stakeholders through multi-sectoral platforms and by taking into account relevant standards and best practice guidance related to biodiversity in these sectors; and to report to the Secretariat on their experiences;

Strengthening the mainstreaming of biodiversity through relevant international processes

3. Welcomes the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the outcomes of the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the SAMOA Pathway, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and relevant policy frameworks, guidance, and tools on agriculture, fisheries, and forestry developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other relevant internationally agreed frameworks;

4. Welcomes the conceptual framework of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services;

5. Invites Parties and other Governments to use, in accordance with the priorities and policies of each country, guidance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations related to biodiversity and agriculture, fisheries, and forestry,19 including the five elements developed by it as a basis for policy dialogue and governance arrangements to identify sustainable development pathways across the Sustainable Development Goals, sectors and along related value chains, endorsed by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its 155th session;

6. Welcomes the platform on biodiversity and agricultural sectors launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for governments, communities of practice and other stakeholders to build bridges between sectors, identify synergies, align goals and develop integrated cross-sectoral approaches to mainstreaming biodiversity in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors;

7. Takes note of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security, and encourages Parties and invites other Governments to make use of this guidance, as appropriate, to promote secure tenure rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests;

8. Takes note also of the global plans of action adopted by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and endorsed by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on plant, animal and forest genetic resources;

9. Recognizes the strong interdependence between the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals in which biodiversity is included in numerous goals and targets;

10. Also recognizes that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a major opportunity for the mainstreaming of biodiversity and for the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;

11. Calls upon Parties and invites other Governments to take measures to support and ensure close linkages and reinforce synergies among biodiversity-related and other international processes and multilateral environmental agreements, to implement their various goals and commitments in a coherent, clear, and mutually supportive manner, and to include biodiversity considerations in their engagement in these various processes, where relevant, and to implement goals and commitments under the Convention and relevant international processes in a coherent manner;

12. Takes note of the progress made in the collaboration between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Tropical Timber Organization towards the achievement of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets through the implementation of the ITTO/CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical Forest Biodiversity under the memorandum of understanding between the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Tropical Timber Organization, and invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to promote the implementation of this initiative on sustainable forest management;

13. Calls for the work of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership on indicators for biodiversity to be taken into account in further work on indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals, so as to solidly embed biodiversity mainstreaming in the reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals;

14. Urges Parties, when implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to mainstream biodiversity in the implementation of all relevant Sustainable Development Goals, thus promoting linkages between efforts to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans and Sustainable Development Goal strategies and plans;

15. Calls upon Parties and invites other Governments to consider utilizing an integrated approach towards achieving the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and implementation of national biodiversity strategies and actions plans;

16. Takes note of the work carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on mainstreaming biodiversity in development policy, and encourages the Organisation to continue this work;

Cross-sectoral mainstreaming

17. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate:

(a) To reduce and reverse biodiversity loss, through the implementation, as appropriate, of sectoral and cross‐sectoral strategies and integrated landscape and seascape management that foster sustainable practices, identify potential measures to contribute to the health and resilience of ecosystems and consider spatial and regional approaches as well as appropriate measures to promote the conservation and restoration of areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services and functions, habitats of threatened species, and recovery of endangered species;

(b) To develop coherent and comprehensive policy frameworks that integrate biodiversity across sectors and to share their experiences, best practices and case studies in this regard through appropriate means, such as the clearing-house mechanism;

(c) To recognize and integrate traditional knowledge, customary sustainable use as well as diverse approaches undertaken by indigenous peoples and local communities in efforts to maintain genetic diversity, reduce habitat and biodiversity loss, and to promote an equitable and participatory approach to the management and restoration of critical ecosystems;

(d) To create and strengthen cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms, as appropriate, that enable biodiversity mainstreaming across agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism and other sectors, and to establish milestones for the mainstreaming of biodiversity in national agendas;

(e) To engage in networking activities among different actors involved in relevant productive sectors, including the private and public sectors, in order to further mainstream biodiversity across relevant sectors;

(f) To recognize and integrate, as appropriate, approaches to living in harmony with nature, promoting a harmonious relationship between peoples and nature;

(g) To enhance monitoring of the use of natural resources, such as land, soil and water in all sectors, including agriculture, forests, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, among others, and to improve data collection, management and public access to monitoring data;

(h) Recalling decision X/32, paragraph 2(i), to make use of voluntary sustainability standards and/or of voluntary certification schemes, and promote their further development, as appropriate and where available, and in accordance with national circumstances and legislation, and consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other international obligations, for sustainably produced goods and services, and to encourage the integration of biodiversity considerations into procurement policies, taking into consideration specificities of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition;

18. Invites Parties and other Governments, in collaboration with relevant national and international organizations and initiatives, and within their national capacity, as appropriate and in accordance with national legislation:

(a) To introduce or strengthen measures to raise awareness of the multiple values of biodiversity by, inter alia, tailoring communication tools to take into account the scale of the problem and the potential benefits of positive action, and making use of evidence-based communication transmitted in a compelling and effective way to decision makers, indigenous peoples and local communities, the private sector, private landholders, and other stakeholders;

(b) To introduce or scale up the use of environmental economic accounting and natural capital accounting, as well as diverse methods and methodologies to assess the multiple values of biodiversity, as appropriate, including the contributions of collective actions from indigenous peoples and local communities, of protected and other effective area-based conservation measures, and of living in harmony with nature, promoting a harmonious relationship between peoples and nature;

(c) To take measures to improve the effectiveness of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, including by strengthening the application of strategic environmental assessment methodologies and by using tools to evaluate potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, including on resilience;

(d) To review, in line with the milestones for implementing Aichi Biodiversity Target 3,22 national policy and legislation in order to encourage the identification of provisions that have positive implications and those that have adverse implications for implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and to consider amending provisions that have adverse implications, including with respect to the transparency of decision-making and access to information;

(e) To review the implementation of cross-sectoral mainstreaming measures undertaken at the national level, including national institutional mechanisms to support the implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and to identify gaps, if any, and to strengthen such measures, as needed;

(f) To develop, as appropriate and in accordance with national circumstances, legal frameworks or administrative measures for land use that enhance the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, while recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to lands and resources;

Sector-specific mainstreaming

Agriculture

19. Recognizes the importance of biodiversity to food security and nutrition and its role in human health and well-being, including through the production of food, fibres, biofuels, and medicinal plants, as well as through their contribution to ecosystem processes and mitigation and adaptation to climate change;

20. Also recognizes that agriculture depends on biodiversity, as well as on the ecosystem functions and services that it underpins, while also recognizing that some agricultural and rangeland management practices maintain habitats in a variety of agricultural areas that support biodiversity;

21. Further recognizes that there are currently many unsustainable agricultural practices that can have significant impacts on biodiversity;

22. Recognizes Sustainable Development Goal 2, which refers to ending hunger, achieving food security, and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture, and its targets 4 and 5, which refer to sustainable food production systems, and the maintenance of the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species;

23. Recognizes the importance of centres of origin, domestication and diversity of plant crops as sources of important genetic diversity for the improvement of crop plants as well as potential sources of new crops for human well-being;

24. Recalls that, in decision IX/1, it was agreed that the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity, including its three international initiatives on the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, sustainable use of soil biodiversity and biodiversity for food and nutrition continues to provide a relevant framework for achieving the objectives of the Convention;

25. Also recalls that one of the conclusions of the fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook and its supporting assessments states that addressing the pressures on biodiversity resulting from food systems will be crucial in the success of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, and that urgent action to achieve sustainable food systems is needed;

26. Notes that the growing demand for food and agricultural commodities will increase the pressures on biodiversity unless those pressures are appropriately addressed;

27. Encourages Parties to recognize the importance of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities for the sustainability of agriculture that is aligned with their world view (cosmovisión) and upholds diversification and ecological rotation and agroforestry, and to promote community and family farming, alongside agroecology, with a view to promoting sustainable production and improving nutrition;

28. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments to develop, as appropriate, policy frameworks for land use that reflect the national biodiversity objectives, that inform decision-making at different scales and levels of governance to, inter alia, promote sustainable increases in the productivity and diversification of production of existing agricultural land and rangeland while enhancing ecosystem services and functions, including those services and functions that contribute to agricultural production (such as pollination, pest control, water provision and erosion control), while also protecting, restoring and sustainably using biodiversity and promoting connectivity in the landscape;

29. Further encourages Parties and invites other Governments to promote further research and development on increasing sustainable productivity based on ecosystem services and functions directly or indirectly relevant to agriculture,

30. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to promote and support, as appropriate, sustainable agricultural production, that may include increases in productivity based on the sustainable management of ecosystem services and functions, diversification of agriculture, agroecological approaches and organic farming, through the enhanced use of a diverse range of well-adapted crops and livestock, and their varieties and breeds, and of associated biodiversity in agricultural systems, including pollinators, pest-control organisms and soil organisms that promote nutrient cycling, thereby reducing the need for or replacing chemical inputs;

31. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments to promote and support, as appropriate, the development, transfer, use and scaling up of technological innovation and traditional knowledge, as well as innovative tools and strategies, that are sustainable and biodiversity friendly, that help increase the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of agriculture on biodiversity; contributing to, among other benefits, the integrated, efficient and sustainable management of energy, water and soil resources;

32. Further encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate, to use an appropriate mix of regulatory and incentive measures aligned with national biodiversity objectives, including the elimination, phasing out and reform of incentives harmful to biodiversity in order, inter alia, to reduce habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation and to increase the efficiency of use of water fertilizer and pesticides and to avoid their inappropriate use, and to encourage public and private sources of finance to be channelled into practices that improve the sustainability of production while reducing biodiversity loss, and to promote and support the restoration of ecosystems that provide essential services in a way that provides for the needs of indigenous peoples and local communities, does not cause harm to other ecosystems, and consistent with national legislation and international obligations;

33. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, to reduce loss and waste at all stages of production and consumption in the food system, including reducing post-harvest losses;

34. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments and stakeholders to promote best practices from various sectors, such as campaigns to reduce food waste, and promote sustainable consumption, production and supply chains, and to share the lessons learned;

35. Further encourages Parties and invites other Governments to maintain genetic diversity of resources for food and agriculture and their landraces/farmers’ varieties and wild relatives as a key pathway to achieving sustainable productivity and nutritional gains, in particular in centres of genetic diversity;

36. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate, to support agricultural development models that are consistent with the Reviewed Strategic Framework 2010-2019 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations25 and apply, as appropriate, the voluntary Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems approved by the Committee on World Food Security in October 2014,26 noting in particular the importance of small-scale family farming, and pastoralism in view of their dominance in terms of food security and nutrition, poverty reduction, social equity in farming and biodiversity conservation efforts;

37. Welcomes initiatives from the private sector and financial institutions to eliminate deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities and operations across their supply chains, and encourages more companies to adopt and implement similar commitments;

38. Also welcomes the assessment on pollinators, pollination and food production carried out by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and notes the relevance of decision XIII/15;

39. Notes the preparation of the “TEEB for Agriculture and Food Interim Report” and of the first State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

40. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, its Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Committee on Agriculture:

(a) To further support the development and implementation of measures, guidance and tools to promote the mainstreaming of biodiversity in the crop, livestock and food and nutrition sectors and to assess their effectiveness, with a view to supporting member countries in the transition to sustainable food and agricultural systems;

(b) To consider developing a global plan of action on the basis of the State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture report;

(c) To provide information on progress to relevant bodies under the Convention;

41. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate, to implement the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, in a mutually supportive manner;

Forests

42. Recognizes the role of forest biodiversity for the maintenance of ecosystem services and functions that contribute to sustainable development, poverty eradication and human well-being, including through the provision of food, feed, water, wood, fibre, fuel, medicine, recreation, as well as the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, while noting the particular importance of native and natural forests for biodiversity;

43. Also recognizes that there remain forests managed under practices that are not sustainable, with significant negative impacts on biodiversity;

44. Further recognizes Sustainable Development Goal 15 and its target 2, which refers to sustainable management of all types of forests, halting deforestation, restoring degraded forests and substantially increasing afforestation and reforestation by 2020;

45. Notes Economic and Social Council resolution 2015/33 on the international arrangement on forests beyond 2015, which emphasizes the economic, social and environmental contributions of all types of forests to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in which the Council acknowledged the progress made by countries and stakeholders towards sustainable forest management, taking into account different visions, approaches, models and tools to achieve sustainable development;

46. Also notes United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/98, which describes sustainable forest management, and refers to its seven thematic elements, adopted by the United Nations Forum on Forests;

47. Further notes the elements of the Durban Declaration, from the XIV World Forestry Congress, which promote the need for a deeper understanding of the integral role of biodiversity in forest ecosystem functioning;

48. Notes the Voluntary Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests, the 2009 ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests, as well as other relevant tools and guidelines prepared by member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to operationalize sustainable forest management, ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;

49. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to give due consideration to biodiversity, when implementing actions set out in Article 5 of the Paris Agreement;

50. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as well as relevant stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and local communities, to make use of the United Nations forest instrument, and to contribute to the preparation of the 2017-2030 Strategic Plan of the international arrangement on forests, under the United Nations Forum on Forests, ensuring that due consideration is given to biodiversity, with a view to promoting a coherent and coordinated approach to support the achievement of forest-related multilateral commitments and goals, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

51. Further encourages Parties and invites other Governments to strengthen efforts to enhance the awareness of all stakeholders and their involvement in the development and implementation of policies and strategies for sustainable forest management, including on measures for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity, recognizing the importance of the practices of indigenous peoples and local communities and the role of natural regeneration in living systems;

52. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to strengthen participation of indigenous peoples and local communities as part of a strategy for forest protection, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and the welfare and livelihoods of these communities;

53. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate, to create enabling conditions, strengthen the enforcement of laws and regulations, and promote the adoption of sustainable forest management practices in the forest sector, and encourages forest enterprises and forest owners to integrate the sustainable use, conservation and restoration of biodiversity into the development and use of forest management plans, voluntary sustainability standards and/or of voluntary certification schemes, tools and guidelines or other voluntary mechanisms;

54. Further encourages Parties and invites other Governments to use, develop or enhance mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of policies, programmes, plans, projects and strategies relating to forest activities and to report on actions that benefit biodiversity and to monitor the biodiversity status using different monitoring methodologies, such as forest or biodiversity monitoring systems that provide information on the integral health of forest ecosystems;

55. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to strengthen their efforts to promote, establish and maintain and/or develop connected national or regional forest protected area networks, giving priority to existing ones, and, where appropriate, to apply spatial and land-use planning tools to identify areas of particular importance to the sustainable use and conservation and restoration of forest biodiversity, including in buffer zones and invites, in this respect, the International Tropical Timber Organization and its member countries to further implement the ITTO/CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical Forest Biodiversity;

56. Urges Parties and invites other Governments, as appropriate, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international obligations, to encourage sustainable forest management to achieve biodiversity outcomes, including by promoting sustainable consumption and production of forest products;

57. Also urges Parties and invites other Governments to use, develop and enhance governance, policies, and practices, and to collaborate, as appropriate, within and across international bodies and through agreements, to promote legally and sustainably sourced forest products and to combat illegal logging and associated trade, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international obligations, including through actions such as the development, implementation and enforcement of legislation and regulation to prevent imports of forest products from illegal sources, and to implement systems for the verification of legal compliance;

58. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its Committee on Forestry to further support the development and implementation of measures, guidance and tools to promote the mainstreaming of biodiversity in the forest sector and to consider, on a regular basis, ways and means to further enhance contributions to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and relevant Sustainable Development Goals;

Fisheries and aquaculture

59. Recognizes that healthy marine, coastal and inland water ecosystems and biodiversity, and the traditional practices of sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities, are essential to achieving sustainable increases and improved resilience in the provision of food and livelihoods;

60. Also recognizes that there are currently a number of fisheries that are not sustainably managed and aquaculture operations and practices with significant negative impacts on biodiversity;

61. Further recognizes Sustainable Development Goal 14 and its targets 2, 4, 5 and 6, which refer to the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of marine ecosystems, the effective regulation of harvesting, the conservation of at least 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas and the prohibition of incentives harmful to biodiversity in fisheries, respectively;

62. Recalls decision XI/18, and encourages fisheries management organizations to further consider biodiversity-related matters in fisheries management, in line with the ecosystem approach, including through inter-agency collaboration and with the full and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and local communities;

63. Also recalls decisions X/29 and XI/18, in which it emphasized the importance of collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, regional fisheries management organizations and regional seas conventions and action plans with regard to addressing biodiversity considerations in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture;

64. Recognizes that various relevant international instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1993 FAO Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas,33 the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, with respect to their Contracting Parties, and the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, together with accompanying guidelines and plans of actions, including the 2014 FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, represent, for their Contracting Parties, contributions to a comprehensive global framework for fisheries policy and management and support the mainstreaming of biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture;

65. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to use available instruments to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Target 6;

66. Recalls paragraph 55 of decision X/29, encourages Parties and invites other Governments to ratify and/or implement the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port States Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, which provides a means of addressing such fishing activities;

67. Recognizes that marine and coastal protected areas are effective tools for conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services that enable the sustainability of fisheries, in particular those in coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, swamps and seagrass meadows, and notes the role of other management measures, such as spatial or temporal fisheries closures;

68. Recalls decisions X/29, XI/17 and XII/22, and calls for further collaboration and information-sharing among the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and regional fishery bodies regarding the use of scientific information on areas meeting the criteria for ecologically or biologically significant marine areas and vulnerable marine ecosystems in support of achieving various Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

69. Urges Parties and invites other Governments to use, as appropriate, existing guidance related to the ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture;

70. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to improve synergies in managing pressures in marine and freshwater environments, including through the implementation of the Priority Actions to Achieve Aichi Biodiversity Target 10 for Coral Reefs and Closely Associated Ecosystems;

71. Urges Parties and invites other Governments to establish, if necessary, or strengthen existing mechanisms of governance of fisheries, and take biodiversity considerations, in particular the precautionary approach, in line with the preamble of the Convention, fully into account when designing and implementing policies for fishing capacity management and reduction, including measures and regulations with a view to promoting the conservation and recovery of endangered species;

72. Also urges Parties and invites other Governments to provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets, as appropriate;

73. Encourages competent intergovernmental organizations to further strengthen collaboration regarding marine, coastal and inland water biodiversity and fisheries, as well as to create opportunities for communities to benefit from alternative uses of those resources, such as ecotourism in parallel with artisanal fishing, where appropriate;

74. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Executive Secretary to improve reporting and support for the implementation of Aichi Biodiversity Target 6;

75. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Committee on Fisheries to consider and further support the development and implementation of measures, guidance and management tools for promoting and supporting the mainstreaming of biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture, as well as to consider further measures aimed at fostering the recovery of threatened and endangered marine species and preventing overfishing;

76. Requests the Executive Secretary and invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to collaborate in the compilation of experiences in mainstreaming biodiversity in fisheries, including through the ecosystem approach to fisheries, and to make this compilation available prior to the Conference of the Parties at its fourteenth meeting;

Tourism

77. Recalls United Nations General Assembly resolution 69/233 of 19 December 2014 on the promotion of sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, for the eradication of poverty and protection of the environment, in which the Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development;

78. Recognizes the potential of sustainable tourism, including community-based tourism, as an instrument for generating opportunities for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and for improving the living conditions of rural populations;

79. Also recognizes the importance of sustainably managed biodiversity-oriented tourism for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the provision of quality jobs and income for indigenous peoples and local communities, and the need to protect it from unsustainable activities as outlined in the Pyeongchang Declaration of Non-Extractive Businesses;

80. Further recognizes that there are currently many unsustainable tourism practices that can have significant impacts on biodiversity;

81. Calls upon Parties and invites other Governments, taking into account relevant work of international organizations and initiatives, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature to make use of, and implement, on a voluntary basis, the guidelines on biodiversity and tourism development adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting and the manuals on their application, as further updated by the Conference of the Parties at its twelfth meeting;

82. Invites Parties and other Governments, to take the following actions, as appropriate and in accordance with national legislation:

(a) To develop and adopt policies, programmes and frameworks, as well as strengthen existing ones, that promote tourism development under the criteria of sustainability and participation of all relevant institutions and stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and local communities, subnational and local governments, the private sector and civil society;

(b) To generate, integrate and use information on the positive and negative impacts on biodiversity of tourism for decision-making on the planning, operation and management of the sector, including with respect to investments, development of infrastructure, job creation, and in considering mechanisms for the reinvestment of parts of tourism revenues on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration at the local or community level;

(c) To promote capacity-building, in particular for national and subnational protected areas agencies, including those working with coastal and marine ecosystems, and involving, as appropriate and in accordance to national legislation, the private sector, civil society and indigenous peoples and local communities, on development and implementation of financial instruments, such as entrance and tourism service fees, concessions and licences, as appropriate, to complement and support public/private investment in the establishment and maintenance of protected area systems and support sustainable tourism;

(d) To take measures to further develop and use various communication, education and public awareness tools for the general public, and for tourists and tourism professionals in particular, on sustainable tourism programmes and practices, including sustainable travel and voluntary standards and certification systems;

(e) To promote rural community tourism as an activity that can contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, restoration of ecosystems and diversification of livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities, promoting the creation of capacity and the transfer of technology;

(f) To work with the World Tourism Organization on the promotion of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, in particular for activities related to mainstreaming biodiversity;

(g) To promote sustainable ecotourism activities and operations, noting that these activities rely on and can contribute to biodiversity conservation;

Engagement of key actors to enhance mainstreaming

Business

83. Expresses its appreciation to the Executive Secretary for preparing the typology of actions for encouraging business reporting on their actions related to biodiversity and for increasing the transparency and comparability of such reporting;

84. Invites Parties and other Governments that have not yet done so to establish and participate in, as appropriate, national or regional initiatives on business and biodiversity as part of the “Global Partnership on Business and Biodiversity”, in the context of the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the objectives of the Convention;

85. Invites Parties and other Governments, as appropriate, to encourage businesses to generate and assess information on the impacts of their activities and operations, including in their supply chains and facilities, that have impacts on biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions and services, as well as preventive, restorative and remedial measures taken, and the expenditures associated therewith;

86. Urges Parties to encourage companies to support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, while contributing to sustainable development and the eradication of poverty;

87. Calls upon Parties to encourage businesses to take into account, as appropriate, various tools, such as the Natural Capital Protocols, the IPBES Guide to Values and Valuation, and the Millennium Assessment Guide for Assessment Practitioners, as well as non-market-based approaches for determining the multiple values of biodiversity, that support better understanding and measurement of dependencies and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, and to share this information as appropriate;

88. Invites businesses to initiate or strengthen activities relevant to paragraph 83 above, and to take measures, as appropriate, to integrate the information compiled into decision-making, including decisions on operations, location, sourcing and use;

89. Calls upon Parties and invites other Governments to include or strengthen biodiversity considerations in sustainable consumption and production policies, plans and programmes;

90. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments to engage with the public and private sectors and community economy to promote behavioural changes that help to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to reduce resource waste at all stages of production and consumption in food systems, including through educational and public awareness campaigns;

91. Invites relevant international and national organizations and initiatives to support the activities related to the business sector included in the present decision, including activities that promote sustainable consumption and production patterns;

92. Invites the business sector as well as relevant organizations and initiatives to submit to the Executive Secretary information on existing frameworks for implementing biodiversity-related valuation and accounting schemes in the business sector, such as natural capital valuation, as well as on programmes that seek to encourage, promote and/or support the application of such frameworks by the business sector and requests the Executive Secretary to make these submissions available via the clearing-house mechanism;

93. Invites Parties to promote, as appropriate, various consumer-based approaches for sustainable consumption, such as utilizing eco-labels for eco-friendly products;

94. Also invites Parties to take, or continue to take, policies and measures to promote mainstreaming biodiversity in business-related decision-making and to raise awareness of the business case for mainstreaming biodiversity in business-related decision-making, and to enhance transparency and public awareness of such actions by businesses, including by encouraging the use of the typology of actions;

95. Invites businesses to engage in the actions specified in the paragraphs above related to business engagement, taking into account the importance of trade associations in enhancing industry-wide actions, including by participating in national or regional business and biodiversity initiatives, using the typology of actions for reporting on biodiversity-related actions, including in their supply chains and facilities, and providing any suggestions for improving or enhancing the use of the typology;

Subnational and local governments

96. Calls upon Parties and invites other Governments, in view of the need for more effective engagement of subnational and local governments and in accordance with national circumstances:

(a) To enhance their efforts to engage subnational and local governments in order to strengthen their contribution to the implementation of the Convention and its Strategic Plan, taking into account the usefulness of networking within local governments;

(b) To raise the awareness of subnational and local governments of the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems services and functions and of the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in the holistic conservation, preservation, sustainable use and management of biodiversity, and consider establishing strategies for the strengthening of contributions of subnational and local governments to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the respective national biodiversity strategies and action plans;

(c) To include consideration of biodiversity related to subnational and local governments in relevant international processes;

Indigenous peoples and local communities

97. Recognizes the central role of indigenous peoples and local communities in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and the need to strengthen their knowledge, technologies, practices and innovations to continue supporting the biodiversity of the world;

98. Also recognizes the role the collective actions of indigenous peoples and local communities to achieve the objectives of the Convention;

Scientific community

99. Welcomes the outcomes of the Third Science for Biodiversity Forum and the commitment of the scientific community gathered in Cancun, Mexico, to work in close partnership with decision makers and other stakeholders to support mainstreaming efforts and ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, community development and societal well-being, and invites Parties to make use of its outcomes, as appropriate, to support the co-production of knowledge to empower Parties in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

100. Invites the broader scientific community to strengthen efforts to communicate its research results, tools and information to policy-makers, and to fill the knowledge gaps identified at the Forum in close partnership with decision makers and other stakeholders, jointly with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services;

Gender

101. Recognizes the vital role of women in mainstreaming biodiversity in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and tourism and other sectors as well as the need to take fully into account the role, rights, needs and aspirations of women in all biodiversity mainstreaming policies and actions;

102. Also recognizes Sustainable Development Goal 5, requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to continue the work with respect to gender mainstreaming to support the implementation of the 2015-2020 Gender Plan of Action, taking into account the vision and perspective of indigenous women, including through support to Parties in integrating gender considerations into their revised national biodiversity strategies and actions plans, as well as in integrating biodiversity in national gender policies and actions plans;

Further work

103. Decides that the Conference of the Parties should consider, at its fourteenth meeting, the mainstreaming of biodiversity into the following sectors: energy and mining; infrastructure; manufacturing and processing industry; and health;

104. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to continue to engage in the international processes identified in paragraph 3 above, and other relevant international processes, particularly as these proceed into the implementation phase, and to support Parties in their efforts pursuant to paragraphs 5, 11 and 13 to 15 above;

105. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, in collaboration with relevant organizations and initiatives, and avoiding duplication of existing work:

(a) To enhance multi-stakeholder partnerships, in cooperation with relevant international organizations and initiatives, to provide support for the implementation of Goal A of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

(b) To identify best practices and successful models of institutional mechanisms in place at the national level, drawing on new information from Parties, information available in the fifth national reports, the clearing-house mechanism, and other existing sources of information, to support implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and to report to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation at its second meeting;

106. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, in cooperation with other relevant organizations, businesses and initiatives, to seek views through the Global Business and Biodiversity Partnership as well as relevant partners on how the provision of data and information on biodiversity-related issues could be harmonized with a view to increasing the consistency of data and information across and within various business sectors;

107. Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to present options to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, at a meeting prior to the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties on how to make the best use of existing programmes of work to further enhance the implementation of the Convention in the light of mainstreaming needs and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;

108. Requests, subject to the availability of funds, further work by the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with Parties, on the typology of actions for reporting on business-related actions, with a view to providing draft guidance, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Implementation at its second meeting;

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

(a) To strengthen collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant partners in all relevant areas for the implementation of the present decision;

(b) To transmit the present decision for the attention of the Conference and Committees on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Committee on World Food Security, the United Nations Forum on Forests and other relevant bodies;

(c) To prepare and disseminate to Parties, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant partners, further guidance on the concept of “sustainability” in food and agriculture with regard to biodiversity, and to promote and strengthen support for relevant information-sharing and technology transfer among Parties, in particular for developing countries, building on existing initiatives, where feasible, such as the Satoyama Initiative, consistent with decisions X/32 and XI/25, and consistent with international obligations;

(d) To make existing guidance and tools relevant to addressing biodiversity considerations in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism and also other relevant sectors, such as industries such as oil, gas, mining, energy and infrastructure available through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention;

(e) To develop, as appropriate, messaging approaches on biodiversity mainstreaming for specific target groups related to these sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and tourism, as part of the delivery on the global communication strategy and messaging approaches as set out in decision XII/2;

(f) In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and other relevant organizations, to support Parties in sharing experiences, best practices and case studies on mainstreaming biodiversity into sectors and in developing comprehensive policy guidance;

(g) To compile lessons learned and case studies from countries which have successful experiences in mainstreaming biodiversity in productive sectors;

110. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in cooperation with other relevant partners, to support the implementation of the present decision and inform on the progress;

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

(a) To analyse the information provided by Parties in their sixth national reports related to tourism activities, complemented by information provided by relevant international organizations and initiatives;

(b) To provide Parties, prior to the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, with information compiled through the activities described in paragraph 82 above, to support Parties in decision-making for sustainable tourism development and rural community tourism;

112. Invites the Global Environment Facility and other donor and funding agencies to provide financial assistance for country-driven projects that address cross-sectoral mainstreaming when requested by developing country Parties, in particular the least developed among them, small island developing States and countries with economies in transition.

Body
Conference of the Parties (COP)

Meeting
COP-13
Thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
4 - 17 December, 2016
Cancun, Mexico

Decision document