Decision COP VII/12

Underlining that the proposals for the application of ways and means to remove or mitigate perverse incentives elaborated by the Workshop on Incentive Measures for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Components of Biological Diversity, held in Montreal from 3 to 5 June 2003, provide further guidance on the implementation of principle 3 of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity,

Stressing that the ecosystem approach is the primary framework for action in the Convention on Biological Diversity and that there is a need to consider the interlinkages between the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity and the ecosystem approach in the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity,

Noting the ongoing work on impact assessment under the Convention on Biological Diversity,

Recognizing that agricultural biodiversity was not fully addressed in the process leading up to the development of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and that there is a need for their further elaboration specifically with  respect to domesticated species, breeds and varieties in the context of the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity, 

Recognizing that the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines would provide Parties with an important tool to achieve the 2010 target endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Millennium Development Goals and the three objectives of the Convention,

Emphasizing further the need for technology transfer and cooperation, and support as well as capacity building activities to assist Governments to apply the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines,

1.Adopts the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, as contained in annex II to the present decision;

3. Requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice, prior to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to explore the applicability of these principles and guidelines to agricultural biodiversity, in particular domesticated species, breeds and varieties, and make appropriate recommendations,   

4.Requests the Executive Secretary to collect information and experiences on successful efforts made to implement Article 10 of the Convention and, as they are developed, success stories, best practices and lessons learned in the application of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines, including information and experiences on how sustainable use of biodiversity can contribute to the achievement of the target of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

5.Requests the Executive Secretary to undertake further work on issues pertaining to use of terms for sustainable use, adaptive management, monitoring and indicators building on the outcome of the Addis Ababa workshop, and in particular and in line with Article 7 of the Convention, to further consolidate the work on the use of terms and on associated instruments based on sections I D and II D together with appendix I of annex I to the report of the Addis Ababa Workshop (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/8), for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and, recalling decisions V/15 and V/24, requests the Executive Secretary to convene a series of technical experts workshops on ecosystem services assessment, financial costs and benefits associated with conservation of biodiversity, and sustainable use of biological resources, taking into account decision VII/12 on sustainable use; 

7.Requests the Executive Secretary to integrate the work on indicators for monitoring sustainable use referred to in section III of the note by the Executive Secretary on sustainable use (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/9) (see annex I to the present decision) also into the broader work undertaken pursuant to decision IV/7 on “identification, monitoring, indicators and assessment”. In particular, social, economic and ecological indicators of external disturbances should be identified and developed.  Existing indicator frameworks, monitoring systems and inventories of natural resources should be utilized, as appropriate;