Decision COP VII/18

Proposals for the application of ways and means to remove or mitigate perverse incentives

1. Takes note with appreciation of the work of the second workshop on incentive measures, held in Montreal from 3 to 5 June 2003, and of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, in elaborating the proposals for the application of ways and means to remove or mitigate perverse incentives, annexed to the present decision;

2. Encourages Parties and governments, as appropriate, to use the proposals as voluntary interim guidance to Parties for the application of ways and means to remove or mitigate policies and practices that generate perverse incentives, and to extend their efforts to an examination of new policies with a view to identifying, and avoiding, potential perverse incentives, bearing in mind that perverse incentives include those that negatively affect biodiversity in other countries;

3. Requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its tenth meeting, as a matter of priority, to further refine and consider, with a view to recommending adoption by the Conference of the Parties, the proposals for the application of ways and means to remove or mitigate perverse incentives, giving adequate time for a substantive and conclusive review of the proposals;

4. Encourages Parties and Governments to use, on a voluntary basis, these proposals as further interim guidance in implementing the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and, in particular, principles 2 and 3, which address incentive measures;

5. Invites competent international organizations and agencies to provide technical and financial support to the efforts of Parties and Governments to apply these proposals with a view to removing or mitigating perverse incentives;

6. Invites Parties, Governments and relevant organizations to submit any information on the removal or mitigation of perverse incentives, including case-studies and best-practices on the application of ways and means as well as any experiences with the application of the proposals, to the Executive Secretary; and requests the Executive Secretary to provide a report thereon to the tenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, to assist in the further consideration of the proposals,

7. Decides that the progress made by Parties in removing or mitigating perverse incentives should be included in their national reports prepared in accordance with Article 26 of the Convention as appropriate;

Further implementation of the programme of work on incentive measures

8. Invites Parties, Governments and international organizations to submit case-studies, best practices and other information on the use of non-monetary positive incentive measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as an initial step in the ongoing examination of incentive measures, including traditional laws and practices which generate positive incentives, and on the application of methodologies for the assessment of values of biodiversity and its functions, as well as other tools for prioritization in decision-making, to the Executive Secretary;

9. Requests the Executive Secretary to make this information available through the clearing-house mechanism and other means, if appropriate, and to prepare a synthesis report for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

10. Urges Parties, Governments and relevant funding agencies to target and prioritize funding to support the preparation and compilation of case-studies and best practices contemplated in paragraph 8;

11. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare, in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and other relevant international organizations, an analysis of existing and new instruments that provide positive incentives, including traditional laws and practices which generate positive incentives, their interaction with other policy measures and their effectiveness, including their requirements for successful application, possible limitations and shortcomings, and to develop proposals on the application of such positive incentive measures and their integration into relevant policies, programmes or strategies, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

12. Requests the Executive Secretary to explore, in cooperation with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and relevant international organizations, existing methodologies for valuation of biodiversity and biodiversity resources and functions, as well as other tools for prioritization in decision-making, by preparing a compilation of existing valuation tools that provides an overview of the discussion on their methodological status, if appropriate, as well as an assessment of their applicability in terms of effectiveness and capacity preconditions, and to prepare proposals for the application of such tools. These proposals should include the identification of options to strengthen international collaborative partnerships for assessing biodiversity values, especially for the refinement and advancement of valuation tools, and shall be submitted to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice for its consideration at a meeting prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.