Notification 2004-106

Dear Madam/Sir, I am writing in connection with paragraph 7 (b) of decision VII/23 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in which the Executive Secretary was requested to convene, subject to the availability of financial resources, regional workshops as a catalysing mechanism to allow for the interaction of the international thematic focal points with the national focal points to further enhance the scientific and technical goal of the clearing-house mechanism. I would also refer to paragraph 4 of decision VI/18 of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in which the Executive Secretary was urged to convene additional capacity-building workshops at the national, subregional and regional levels referred to in decision V/14 of the Conference of the Parties for clearing-house activities and training in support of national capacities to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity. In support of these decisions, a regional meeting will be convened for Asia and the Pacific, with the generous support of the Government of Belgium, to provide countries of the region with the opportunity to express their needs in regard to the implementation of recommendations arising from work completed in support of the thematic areas and cross-cutting issues. The meeting will also offer countries of the region the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the use of new information technologies and to discuss possible collaboration with established international thematic focal points. This regional meeting will be held from 3 to 5 February 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. I would like to invite Parties and Governments to nominate one participant for this meeting, preferably qualified in one of the following fields: information management; information sharing systems; technical and scientific cooperation; and/or experience with the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention. Please find attached herewith the provisional and annotated agendas and the pre-registration form for the meeting. These documents, and the document Information for Participants are also posted on the Secretariat’s website, at http://www.biodiv.org. Please note that the meeting will be held in English. Due to budgetary constraints, the Secretariat strongly urges Parties to nominate participants to the Asia and Pacific regional meeting on the CHM who have also been nominated to attend the tenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-10), to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from 7 to 11 February 2005. The Secretariat will support the participation of one representative from each Asia and Pacific country Party to the Convention in the meeting and SBSTTA-10. This includes a round-trip air ticket on the most economical and direct route and a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for the duration of the meetings. In view of budget constraints and in order to allow the maximum number of countries to participate in both meetings, the Secretariat would be using special air fare tickets for sponsored delegates, which impose restrictions with respect to the changing of passenger’s name, travel dates and itinerary. Countries that wish to solicit such assistance are requested to provide the required information on the enclosed nomination form and forward it to the Secretariat before 7 January 2005.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points in the Asia and Pacific Region CHM National Focal Points Informal Advisory Committee of the CHM