Decision COP VII/21

Recalling the commitments made by all Parties in Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention on Biological Diversity,

Recalling also paragraph 44 of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

Welcoming the substantial third replenishment of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund,

Concerned with funding gaps, at all levels, that remain in addressing the needs for achieving the three-fold objectives of the Convention in a balanced manner,

Affirming that poverty eradication, sustainable development and the achievement of the three objectives of the Convention are closely inter-linked,

1.Urges Parties and Governments, international and regional financial institutions and development agencies, as well as other donors, to take timely actions to ensure the effective implementation of the programme of work as well as the Strategic Plan of the Convention and associated targets;

2.Stresses the importance of implementing paragraph 7 of decision VI/16 in which Parties and Governments are invited to share their experience on developing and implementing financial measures for supporting national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and encourages the Executive Secretary to compile and disseminate such information as available;

3.Urges Parties to fully implement the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development and conclude successfully the Doha Development Negotiation Round process;

4.Notes with appreciation the publication “Aid activities targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions 1998-2000” released by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and invites the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to provide information on financial flow statistics relating to the objectives of the Convention to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting;

5.Invites Parties and Governments, funding institutions and development agencies, as well as other donors, which have not done so, to make their funded biodiversity-related projects publicly available on their respective websites and to notify the Executive Secretary of the list of such projects;

6.Requests the Executive Secretary to continue the efforts to compile and disseminate biodiversity-related funding information, in order to monitor funding status, identify gaps in funding activities and develop options;

8.Invites Parties and Governments to develop and encourage biodiversity-related partnership arrangements with and among funding institutions and other stakeholders, including with banking and business sectors, in order to promote, inter alia, the development and implementation of initiatives such as the Global Initiative on Banking, Business and Biodiversity, in support of the achievement of the objectives of the Convention and agreed global targets;