Notification 2019-018

Dear Madam/Sir, Further to notification 2018-103, issued on 14 December 2018, I am pleased to remind Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous peoples and local communities of the opportunity: 1. To submit to the Secretariat (secretariat@cbd.int) relevant information and supporting documentation on the four topics described in notification 2018-103 as soon as possible, but no later than 15 February 2019. Submissions from Parties should be made through the Focal Points of the Convention on Biological Diversity. In the case of organizations, information should be submitted through the head of such organization. The information submitted will be made available for consideration by the online forum and the AHTEG on Synthetic Biology; and 2. To nominate experts to participate in the Open-ended Online Forum on Synthetic Biology. CBD National Focal Points or Heads of organizations, as appropriate, are kindly requested to submit nominations for experts via e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int, clearly indicating the names and e-mails of each nominee. Nominees will be subsequently contacted by the Secretariat to facilitate their registration in the Open-ended Online Forum by completing an online form outlining their experience in the field of synthetic biology. The Online Forum is open to all interested participants but they must be registered in order to contribute to the online discussions. The outcomes of the online discussions will serve as a basis for the deliberations by the AHTEG on Synthetic Biology. Nominations of experts to the Open-ended Online Forum on Synthetic Biology must be received before 15 February 2019. Please note that there is no need to re-nominate experts that have been previously nominated for the Open-ended Online Forum on Synthetic Biology, as nominations from other intersessional periods remain valid unless the Secretariat is advised by the National Focal Point, or Head of organization, that those experts are no longer endorsed. The list of registered participants is available at https://bch.cbd.int/synbio/participants/.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, relevant organizations, and indigenous peoples and local communities, cc: SBSTTA National Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points, Nagoya Protocol Focal Points