Side Event
"Practicing Synergies Initiative": Joining Heads & Hands in the Implementation of the Rio Conventions
Organizer
CBD & UNCCD Secretariats with collaborating partners
Date and Time
18 February 2004 18:30 - 20:0
<br>Synergy between the Rio Conventions is being addressed at various levels under the UNCCD, UNFCCC and CBD. The "Practicing Synergy Initiative" aims to reach out to the national and local level actions and activities that are being implemented especially by country parties. The sharing of practical experiences and of lessons learnt is in the foreground of the initiative. <br><br> The side event will be chaired by Mr. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, chairman of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the CBD. Through soe introductionnary remarks, representatives of the CBD and UNCCD Secretariats will give some background to "synergy" work of the Conventions. Two case studies will be presented. Mr. Sem Shikongo, national focal point for the Rio Conventions in Namibia, will present the first case study. It will focus on the synthesis results from a local level synergy workshop that was held in Namibia last year. That workshop used range management as a common theme for the implementation of the Conventions; farmers, other community members, and a wide range of concerned organisations and Government practitionners attended it. In the second case study Mr. Brahim Sall from Mauritania will present outcomes/experiences gained from a sub-regional meeting that was held in Bamako, Mali, in December 2003 on agro biodiversity, on behalf of the workshop organizers and participants. The workshop focused on agro biodiversity as a theme of interest to the synergistic implementation of the Rio Conventions. <br><br> The case studies and other presentations are meant to lay a foundation for the further development of explicit synergy activities as called for under the Rio Conventions, i.e. under the CBD through its work on dry adn sub-humid lands biodiversity. It is hoped that through the discussions fresh impetus of how such activities can be implemented, how such implementation can be supported and other practical ideas will be shared.