Decision COP VII/4

1.Notes the progress made in the implementation of the programme of work on the biological diversity of inland water ecosystems, as reported in the note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/12);

2.Recognizes that a major shortcoming in the current review has been the limited availability of recent information on each of the activities of the programme of work and the lack of financial resources to generate it, and further recognizes the usefulness of the national reports submitted to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) for a global status of the implementation of the programme of work on the biological diversity of inland water ecosystems, and, accordingly, requests the Executive Secretary to submit, for consideration at its eighth meeting, a proposal on ways and means for making the review more comprehensive;

3.Also requests the Executive Secretary to develop with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention a proposal, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting, on streamlining and improving the effectiveness of national reporting on inland water ecosystems, taking into account the work of the Task Force on Streamlining Forest-related Reporting established in the framework of United Nations Forum on Forests and other initiatives for harmonizing biodiversity-related national reports; 

4.Welcomes and encourages, in particular, the synergy being developed between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention in implementing the programme of work, notes the progress made in the implementation of the joint work plans between the two conventions (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/INF/27) and encourages further activities aiming at avoiding overlaps in the work of both conventions; 

5.Requests the Executive Secretary to continue developing and strengthening collaboration with other organizations, institutions and conventions as a way to streamline many of the activities contained in the programme of work, promote synergies and avoid unnecessary duplications and to fully cooperate with all partners in the development and implementation of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 2003;

6.Notes the need to adapt elements in the programme of work, as appropriate, in response to new developments or emergency matters and decides to carry out the next in-depth review of the programme of work no later than ten years from now, taking into account the multi-year programme of work of the Conference of the Parties and the 2010 target in the Strategic Plan;

8.Recommends that the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and their target of 2010 to reduce significantly the rate of biodiversity loss, should guide the implementation of the revised programme of work on inland water biological diversity;

9. Recognizes the need for resources, human, technological and financial, to implement effectively the activities under the revised programme of work, including capacity building in the required fields, and in recognition of Article 20 of the Convention;

10.Urges Parties, other Governments and organizations to incorporate the objectives and relevant activities of the programme of work in their biodiversity strategies and action plans, wetland policies and strategies, and the integrated water-resources management and water-efficiency plans being developed, by 2005, in line with paragraph 25 of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and to implement them and further promote coordination and cooperation between national actors responsible for inland water ecosystems and biological diversity;

11.Recognizes the presence of inland water ecosystems in agricultural lands, forests, dry and sub-humid lands, and mountains, and the ecological connectedness between inland waters, estuaries and inshore coastal areas and, accordingly, encourages Parties, other Governments and organizations to ensure cross-referencing to, and coherence with, the other thematic programmes of work while implementing this programme of work;

12.Urges Parties to share information and lessons learned from the application of national and regional policies, plans and best practices, from the application of water frameworks, including specific examples of successful policy interventions to conserve and sustainably use inland waters, and requests the Executive Secretary to summarize this and related available information for the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties; 

13.Invites Parties to formulate and adopt outcome oriented targets and identified priorities for each activity, including timescales, taking into account the Strategic Plan of the Convention as well as the Strategic Plan of the Ramsar Convention for the period 2003-2008, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development;

15.Takes note of the status and trends of, and threats to, inland water biodiversity described in the note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/8/8/Add.1) and related information documents and give particular consideration to the listing of major threats to inland water biodiversity, and their underlying causes, as a basis for the identification of priorities for early action, recognizing that the relative importance of threats, and their underlying causes, will vary by region and country; 

17.Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to improve national, regional and global data on inland water ecosystem goods and services, their uses and related socio economic variables; on species and all taxonomic levels; on basic hydrological aspects and water supply; and on the threats to which inland water ecosystems are subjected;

18.Welcomes the report of the Expert Meeting on Guidelines on Rapid Assessment of Biological Diversity of Inland Water Ecosystems (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/8/INF/5) and the guidelines annexed thereto; 

19.Recognizes the usefulness of these guidelines to create baseline or reference data sets for inland water ecosystems of different types and to address the serious gaps that exist in knowledge of taxonomy, distribution, and conservation status of freshwater species;

20.Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to use and promote the application of the guidelines, in particular in the circumstances of small island developing States and in the territories of States in which inland water ecosystems suffer from ecological disaster;

21.Recognizes that the guidelines are focused on biological factors and, more specifically, on species-level assessments, and that they only touch on ecosystem-level and socio-economic and cultural aspects relating to the conservation and use of biological diversity, and requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention and other relevant organizations, to develop a complementary set of tools to assess the function and health of inland water ecosystems and the socio-economic and cultural values of biological diversity of inland waters to be presented as information paper to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting;

22.Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant organizations, to strengthen capacities, including through practical training, for the application and, as needed, adaptation to local conditions of the guidelines especially in developing countries, particularly in small island developing States and in the territories of certain States in which inland water ecosystems suffer from ecological disaster;

23.Requests the Executive Secretary to develop a monitoring and reporting system to assess the experiences gathered with respect to the usefulness and applicability of the guidelines, including through the national reports under the Convention on Biological Diversity;

24.Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to ensure opportunities for the active participation of indigenous and local communities in all stages of rapid assessments of biological diversity of inland waters traditionally occupied or used by these communities, consistent with decision VII/16 F of the Conference of the Parties on the Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines for the Conduct of Cultural, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment regarding Developments Proposed to Take Place on, or which are Likely to Impact on, Sacred Sites and on Lands and Waters Traditionally Occupied or Used by Indigenous and Local Communities;  

25.Emphasizes the critical role of inland water biodiversity for sustainable livelihoods and, accordingly, requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant organizations, to prepare a study on the linkages between conservation and sustainable use of inland water biodiversity and poverty alleviation/sustainable livelihoods, including human health considerations, for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting. The study should contain proposals on ways and means to ensure that implementation of the programme of work contributes appropriately to poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods;

26.Requests the Executive Secretary to compile, in collaboration with relevant organizations and experts, existing information and disseminate it in a format that is useful to policy makers, recognizing that comprehensive information about the function of inland water ecosystems is invaluable to land and resource managers for planning, evaluating and executing plans and programmes.  Emphasis should be put on assessment of, and research on, factors that affect ecosystem functions, the valuation of ecosystem functions, and remedial actions to restore ecosystem functions;

27.Requests those Parties for which this is appropriate, to adopt the Ramsar classification of wetlands as an interim classification system and use it as a framework for the initial inventorying of inland water ecosystems for the purpose of preparing indicative lists of inland water ecosystems important in the framework of the Convention, as requested in paragraph 12 of the programme of work on inland water biodiversity annexed to decision IV/4;

28.Requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice in close collaboration with the Ramsar Convention to review the interim classification system with the view to developing a definitive classification system as a matter of urgency prior to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, taking into account the multi-year programme of work (decision VII/31), on the basis of experiences accumulated by Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, as appropriate to their national circumstances, taking into account the options described in the note by the Executive Secretary prepared for the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/8/8/Add.4);