Decision COP IX/31

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling Article 21, paragraph 3, of the Convention,

Recalling also the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conference of the Parties and the Council of the Global Environment Facility,

Having reviewed the report of the Global Environment Facility to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (UNEP/CBD/COP/9/9),

Having considered the independent report on the third review of the effectiveness of the financial mechanism of the Convention,

1. Notes the reform measures introduced by the Global Environment Facility to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of the financial mechanism;

2. Decides to continue to explore ways and means to improve the effectiveness of providing guidance to the financial mechanism, including the four-year framework for programme priorities related to utilization of GEF resources for biodiversity, coinciding with replenishments of the Trust Fund of the Global Environment Facility;

3. Requests the Council of the Global Environment Facility to take the following actions in order to improve the effectiveness of the financial mechanism:

4. Encourages the Executive Secretary, the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Environment Facility and the Director of the GEF Evaluation Office to continue to strengthen inter‑secretariat cooperation;

5. Requests the Executive Secretary, for consideration by the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties:

6. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare, in consultation with the GEF Council, a proposal on the terms of reference including cost options for the fourth review of the effectiveness of the financial mechanism, for consideration by the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

The Conference of the Parties,

Taking note of the elements for the four-year (2010-2014) framework for programme priorities related to utilization of GEF resources for biodiversity, which were based on the existing guidance, the Strategic Plan of the Convention, national biodiversity strategies and action plans, GEF-4 strategy for biodiversity focal area, as well as findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,

Taking note of the report of the Global Environment Facility to the Conference of the Parties at its ninth meeting (UNEP/CBD/COP/9/9),

Taking noting also of the terms of reference for the mid-term review of the resource allocation framework approved version from the Global Environment Facility (UNEP/CBD/COP/9/INF/17),

Welcoming the dialogue between the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Bureau of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties held in Paris on 8 July 2007,

Noting that the Global Environment Facility is built on the principles of country-drivenness and country ownership,

Highlighting the important role of national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAP) as a tool in identifying national needs and priorities for financing from the Global Environment Facility,

Taking note of the recommendations to enhance the process of formulating and consolidating guidance to the financial mechanism and recognizing the need to provide coherent and prioritized guidance to the Global Environment Facility,

Having considered recommendation 2/3 of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation,

1. Encourages the Executive Secretary to maintain and strengthen the dialogue with the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Environment Facility with a view to enhancing the implementation of the guidance adopted by the Conference of the Parties during the fourth replenishment period of the Facility and onwards;

2. Encourages collaboration at national level between national focal points for the Convention, for related environmental agreements and for the Global Environment Facility, including through the projects supported by the Facility, and invites the Global Environment Facility to continue to promote such collaboration, including through regional and national workshops for the focal points;

3. Suggests the the four-year framework of programme priorities, as annexed to the present decision, for consideration during the fifth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, as related to utilization of Global Environment Facility resources for biodiversity for the period from 2010 to 2014;

4. Acknowledges the GEF-4 strategy for biodiversity is a useful starting point for GEF-5 and requests GEF, for the fifth replenishment period, to build on the GEF-4 strategy based on the the four-year framework of programme priorities in the annex to the present decision.