Decision COP XI/5

1. Takes note of the report of the Global Environment Facility (UNEP/CBD/COP/11/8);

2. Adopts the four-year outcome-oriented framework of programme priorities for the period 2014-2018 as contained in the annex to the present decision and requests the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to implement it and report back to the Conference of the Parties at its twelfth meeting on the GEF 6 strategy and its thirteenth meeting on its implementation and how it responds to the individual elements and their components, and the additional strategic considerations of the framework, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and the Council of the Global Environment Facility;

3. Encourages the Global Environment Facility to further expedite the provision of financial support, based on a flexible and national demand driven approach, taking into consideration the needs of developing countries in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention;

4. Calls upon the Global Environment Facility to avoid additional and lengthy processes and to utilize existing NBSAPs as the basis for GEF 6 determination of needs based priorities;

5. Calls upon the Global Environment Facility to further clarify the concept and application of co-financing for biodiversity projects, and invites the GEF to apply co-financing arrangements in ways that do not create unnecessary barriers and costs for recipient countries to access GEF funds; 

6. Invites developed country Parties and others to increase their financial contributions through the financial mechanism during the sixth GEF replenishment period (GEF-6) while recognizing the increase of funds under GEF-5, taking into account the substantial financial needs in order to implement the obligations of the Convention, the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets;

7. Requests the Executive Secretary to make available to Parties the report of the fourth review of the effectiveness of the financial mechanism prepared in response to decision X/27 for consideration by the Ad Hoc Open-ended Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention at its fifth meeting;

Recalling its decision X/26,

8. Emphasizes that the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets provide the overall framework for the implementation of the Convention for the decade, including for the activities during the sixth replenishment period of the Global Environment Facility (2014-2018);

9. Notes that implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 will require the funding of activities that contribute to all five goals and all twenty targets;

10. Also notes the report of the assessment of needs for GEF-6 and expresses its appreciation to the members of the expert group;

11. Takes note of the range of funding needs estimated for the sixth replenishment. This includes both what might be provided through the replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund for the biodiversity focal area, as well as what might be mobilized and provided through other funds;

12. Urges the Global Environment Facility, in the process of replenishment for GEF-6, to give due consideration to all aspects of the expert team’s needs assessment report on the levels of funding for biodiversity;

13. Requests the Executive Secretary and invites the Global Environment Facility to identify the Aichi Biodiversity Targets benefiting the most from synergies with other GEF focal areas and make this information available for further use;

14. Emphasizes that:

15. Transmits to the Global Environment Facility the report on the assessment of needs for GEF 6, for consideration by the Global Environment Facility, so that the Facility will in its regular report to the Conference of Parties indicate how it has responded during the replenishment cycle to the previous assessment by the Conference of the Parties;

Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

16. Recalling decision X/17, urges Parties and invites other Governments, the financial mechanism, and funding organizations to provide adequate, timely and sustainable support for the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, especially for developing countries, in particular least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as Parties with economies in transition and those countries that are centres of genetic diversity; 

Marine and coastal biodiversity 

17. Urges Parties and invites other Governments, the financial mechanism, and funding organizations, as appropriate, to provide adequate, timely, and sustainable support to the implementation of training and capacity building and other activities related to ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs), especially for developing countries, in particular least developed countries and small island developing States, and Parties with economies in transition, including countries with upwelling systems, and, as appropriate, indigenous and local communities;

Protected areas

18.Invites the Global Environment Facility and its implementing agencies to facilitate the alignment of the development and implementation of protected area projects with the actions identified in national action plans for the programme of work, for example by clearly articulating the linkages with elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in project documents, with a view to facilitating the systematic monitoring and reporting of the results of those projects as they contribute to achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 and other related targets by Parties, and to maximize the contribution of such projects to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020;

Invasive alien species

19. Requests the Global Environment Facility, in accordance with its mandate, and invites other donors, to provide adequate and timely financial support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States among them, as well as countries with economies in transition, including countries that are centres of origin or diversity of genetic resources;

Cooperation with international organizations, other conventions and initiatives

20. Requests the Global Environment Facility and invites other financial mechanisms to continue to support projects and activities to improve synergies among relevant multilateral environment agreements; 

Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit sharing 

21. Recommends that the Global Environment Facility make available the necessary funds for activities to support access and benefit-sharing and the early entry into force and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in order to implement the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and further recommends that GEF operational focal points carefully consider the urgent need to finance activities related to access and benefit-sharing and the Nagoya Protocol when consulting national stakeholders on the distribution of the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) allocation;

22. Further recommends that the Global Environment Facility continue to finance, as a priority, technical support to Parties aimed at the speedy ratification and early entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol, and its implementation at national level;

23. Requests GEF, in considering financing for Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund projects, to ensure that the Fund will specifically support activities related to early ratification and capacity-building, and be used for access to and utilization of genetic resources only when such activities have been approved by appropriate government authorities and endorsed through the Global Environment Facility operational focal point;

Monitoring progress in implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

24. Calls upon Parties, the Global Environment Facility, donors, international organizations, academia, non-governmental organizations and organizations of indigenous and local communities to consider the provision of technical support and financial resources for collaborative programmes related to the work on indicators on traditional knowledge and customary sustainable use contained in decision XI/3;

25. Recalls paragraphs 5 and 6 of decision X/10, which, inter alia, request the Global Environment Facility and invite other donors, Governments and multilateral and bilateral agencies to provide adequate and timely financial support for the preparation of the fifth national reports;

Engagement of other stakeholders

26. Reiterates its invitation to the Global Environment Facility in paragraph 7 of decision X/23 to consider establishing a South-South biodiversity cooperation trust fund for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, based on voluntary contributions, and welcomes ongoing discussions on this matter;

Capacity-building support to Parties

27. Expresses its gratitude to all the international organizations and convention secretariats and to the Global Environment Facility for their contributions facilitating the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and invites them to further support the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020;

Biosafety 

28. Further transmits the guidance received from the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is contained in appendix II.