Notification 2016-040

Dear Madam/Sir, I have the pleasure to announce that the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is organizing, in collaboration with the Government of Thailand and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a capacity-building workshop for selected subregions of Asia on the restoration of forests and other ecosystems to support the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15 (Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15 set global targets to reduce the loss of natural habitats, secure ecosystem services, and restore degraded areas (https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/). Actions towards achieving these targets also contribute towards, or depend on, achieving many other Aichi Biodiversity Targets (e.g. Targets 7, 11, 12, 13, and 18).), to be held from 27 June to 1 July 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop will be conducted in English. Workshop documents will be posted on the CBD website at https://www.cbd.int/meetings/ in due course. This workshop is one of a series being organized through the implementation of the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI) by the CBD Secretariat thanks to the generous financial assistance of the Korea Forest Service of the Government of the Republic of Korea. The FERI was welcomed by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD at its twelfth meeting in paragraph 5 of decision XII/19. The Secretariat plans to offer capacity-building to Parties within an integrated and participatory approach to planning and implementation at the landscape level. The overall aim of the workshop is to support Parties in developing and implementing national plans on ecosystem restoration, including with a focus on forests towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15 and related targets. Towards this aim, the workshop will enable: (a) Review of national commitments and their stages of implementation; (b) Learning about best practices from experts in the field, including on approaches taken to incorporate biodiversity into national plans and frameworks for implementation; © Review of relevant global and regional initiatives and relevant tools in support of country commitments; (d) South-South exchange of experiences and knowledge; and € Exploring opportunities for resource mobilization. These capacity-building activities respond to paragraph 5 of decision XI/16 wherein the COP requested the Executive Secretary to conduct capacity-building workshops on ecosystem restoration. Furthermore, these activities will assist the Secretariat to report on progress by Parties towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 5, 14 and 15. I am pleased to invite your Government to nominate one representative to participate in the workshop, as soon as possible but not later than 22 April 2016. Due to new internal procedures, it will not be possible to process nominations received after this date. Nominated representatives from countries eligible to receive funding will receive financing from the CBD Secretariat to facilitate their participation. Nominations should be submitted using the attached nomination form (Annex I) accompanied by an official letter of nomination, the completed HR Mini Master Request Form to expedite registration (Annex II), and a scanned photocopy of the nominee’s national passport to secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to +1 514 288 6588. Parties are requested to use the following criteria when determining their nominations. The nominee should: (a) Have a level of responsibility for making decisions on land use/spatial planning for biodiversity/agriculture/water resources/restoration; (b) Be in a position to follow-up on national commitments and actions including at CBD meetings such as the twentieth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Technical and Technological Advice and the thirteenth meeting of the COP; and © Be in a position to translate the knowledge gained into concrete cross-sectoral actions to enhance policy and planning coherence with forest sector representatives. In order to take stock of progress and activities being carried out by countries, the Secretariat has developed a detailed questionnaire for country representatives to complete online by 31 May 2016. There are four sections to this questionnaire. Sections 1 and 4 are obligatory. Please follow the instructions noted in each section. • Section 1: Diagnosis of causes and actions to address them (Obligatory Section-17 questions) • Section 2: Linkages to climate change mitigation and adaptation (5 questions) • Section 3: Assessment of state and trends of natural ecosystems (15 questions) • Section 4: Target setting (Obligatory Section-9 questions) For your information, FAO will directly invite and support the participation of one forestry expert from eligible Parties through FAO channels. National focal points to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification are also invited to attend at their own expense. I look forward to receiving your nominations and I thank you for your cooperation and continued support for the work of the Convention. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam