COP Decision

. Sustainable use of biodiversity: bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management

`XII/18.`Sustainable use of biodiversity: bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling decision XI/25 on sustainable use of biodiversity: bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management, and Article 10(c) of the Convention on customary sustainable use,

1.Welcomes the establishment of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management and expresses its gratitude to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for providing its Secretariat;

2.Acknowledges the outcomes of the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, held in 2014, ¹⁰⁸ as well as the resolution of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme on illegal trade in wildlife, ¹⁰⁹ the decisions on illegal trade in wildlife adopted at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the work of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime, and other related high-level initiatives, and stresses the considerable scale and detrimental economic, social and environmental consequences of illegal trade in wildlife;

3.Notes that the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative, consistent with decisions X/32 and XI/25, is working towards the sustainable use of biodiversity and its integration into the management of land, forests, and water resources;

4.Takes note of the “One Health” approach and its relevance to developing national and local wildlife surveillance systems and strengthening national biosecurity associated with bushmeat practices;

5.Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to strengthen financial and technical support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, for the establishment and implementation of effective traceability, monitoring and control systems at the national and local levels;

6.Welcomes the approval by the second Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), ¹¹⁰ as part of its Work Programme 2014-2018 and as part of the Antalya Consensus, of the initiation of scoping for a thematic assessment on sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity and strengthening capacities and tools, for consideration by the Plenary at its fourth session;

7.Notes Decision 16.149 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which requested its Standing Committee to review Resolution 13.11 on Bushmeat, taking into consideration the decisions and guidance developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, including the outcomes of the Joint Meeting of the Liaison Group on Bushmeat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Central Africa Bushmeat Working Group of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, for the consideration of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;

8.Encourages cooperation between national focal points of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora on sustainable wildlife management, including bushmeat to ensure synergies between the two conventions;

9.Encourages Parties to develop, revise or update, as appropriate, their regulatory systems to differentiate among subsistence uses, illegal hunting, and domestic and international trade of specimens of wild species and products, in a mutually supportive manner with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and other international obligations so as to avoid penalizing both the countries and the persons using wildlife resources for subsistence purposes;

10.Also encourages Parties to assess, minimize and mitigate the impacts of illegal hunting on the subsistence hunting and livelihoods of indigenous and local communities, and on other subsistence users of wildlife resources;

11.Encourages Parties, and invites other Governments, to strengthen the capacity of indigenous and local communities to exercise their rights and responsibilities in relation to the sustainable management of wildlife;

12.Also encourages Parties, and invites other Governments, to review, and, as appropriate, reform, incentives that might encourage unsustainable consumption of bushmeat;

13.Requests the Executive Secretary, working with the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, subject to the availability of resources:

(a)To prepare technical guidance on the role of sustainable wildlife management for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;

(b)To prepare an analysis of the impacts of “subsistence use” of wildlife on the survival and regeneration of wild species, in the context of growing human populations and pressures on wildlife resources;

(c)To support Parties in developing and implementing integrated sustainable wildlife management programmes;

(d)To enhance communication and information sharing among members of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management and prepare joint awareness raising and outreach materials, and make them available to Parties;

(e)To report on progress to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.