Decision COP XII/7

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Recognizes the importance of gender considerations to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

2. Encourages Parties to give gender due consideration in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and to integrate gender into the development of national indicators;

3. Recognizes that important steps in gender monitoring, evaluation and indicators relevant to the Convention have already been taken by Parties and relevant organizations but that additional work is required, including with regard to collecting and using gender disaggregated data, and therefore, encourages Parties and relevant organizations to undertake further work in this respect;

4. Encourages Parties to build capacity to integrate biodiversity considerations into national gender policies and action plans;

5. Requests that the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature with respect to its work on the Environment and Gender Index, continue to consider how gender-disaggregated data can be mainstreamed into the development of indicators for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and take the necessary steps to finalize a set of preliminary indicators identified for biodiversity and gender;

7. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant partners, and subject to the availability of resources, to collect case studies and best practices, including those provided by Parties and by indigenous and local communities, on monitoring, evaluation and indicators on gender mainstreaming regarding biodiversity, to disseminate this information through the clearing house mechanism and to explore ways to encourage replication of such practices. Such case studies and best practices will include information on biodiversity tailored for girls and women and models that promote the participation of girls and women in a meaningful, timely and effective manner;

8. Also requests the Executive Secretary to provide input to the ongoing discussion on the post-2015 United Nations development agenda and the sustainable development goals on links between gender and biodiversity and to keep Parties informed in this regard;

9. Welcomes the 2015–2020 Gender Plan of Action under the Convention on Biological Diversity, contained in the annex to this decision,

10. Emphasizes the need to build awareness of the Gender Plan of Action and capacity for its implementation;

11. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to availability of resources, to support the implementation of the Gender Plan of Action, including at the national level and including for the purpose of better integrating biodiversity  in national gender policies and action plans;

12. Requests Parties to report on actions undertaken to implement the Gender Plan of Action;

13. Invites the United Nations Environment Programme and other international organizations to provide or facilitate the provision of training on gender mainstreaming, including in the context of the UNEP Gender Plan of Action, to the staff of the Secretariat and, as appropriate, the national focal points of the Convention;

14. Encourages the further development of synergies and a common knowledge base between the different environmental conventions in order to establish a common and comprehensive monitoring framework and indicator system for gender mainstreaming, as appropriate, and taking into account the IUCN Environment and Gender Index.