Notification 2005-070

Dear Madam/Sir, The purpose of the present Notification is to invite Parties and Governments to nominate representatives to attend the meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention, to be held, subject to availability of funds, from 5 to 9 September 2005 in Montreal, Canada. This Notification also serves to inform Parties and Governments that pre-session documents for the meeting will shortly be made available for their review and comment. The mandate of the Working Group on Review of Implementation has been defined based on the components of decision VII/30, elements of other relevant decisions (V/20 (41) & VII/26 (3&5)) and the goals and subsidiary goals of the Strategic Plan. It will focus primarily on the following issues: · Progress on implementation of the Strategic Plan and the 2010 target, particularly at the national level; · Review of the impacts and effectiveness of Convention processes; · Cooperation with other conventions, organizations and initiatives, and stakeholder engagement; and, · Methods to evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention, including national reporting. The provisional agenda and the pre-registration form for the meeting are attached herewith. The Information for Participants Note will be made available shortly at the Secretariat’s web page at www.biodiv.org. Please advise the Secretariat of the name and coordinates of your government’s officially designated representative to this meeting at your earliest convenience but no later than 15 July 2005. This will enable travel arrangements to be made for eligible participants in good time. Subject to the availability of resources, the Secretariat will support the participation of representatives selected from among those nominated by developing countries and countries with economies in transition. This includes a round-trip air ticket on the most economical and direct route and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for the duration of the meeting. In preparation for the meeting, I am pleased to inform you that the documents to be submitted for consideration of the Working Group on Review of Implementation will be made available for peer review on the Secretariat’s website, at http://www.biodiv.org/wgri/doc.shtml The following documents will be posted on the website shortly: Document Number Title UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/1 Provisional agenda UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/1/Add.1 Annotated provisional agenda UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/1/Add.2 Rationale for the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/2 Implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan and progress towards the 2010 Target UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/3 Review of processes under the Convention UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/3/Add.1 Review of processes under the Convention: Summary of previous reviews, external reviews and submissions from Parties UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/3/Add.2 Review of programmes of work, guidance, and other tools developed under the Convention UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/4 Mechanisms to support implementation of the Clearing-House Mechanism UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/5 Financial resources and mechanism: Implementation of Articles 20 and 21 and related decisions UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/6 Review of the impacts and effectiveness of existing processes under the Convention: Communication, Education and Public Awareness UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/7 Cooperation with other conventions, organizations and initiatives, and engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of the Convention UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/7/Add.1 Options for enhanced cooperation among the three Rio conventions UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/7/Add.2 Options for enhanced cooperation among the five biodiversity-related conventions UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/8 Private sector engagement in the implementation of the Convention UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/9 Framework for monitoring implementation of the Convention and achievement of the 2010 target and review of the thematic programmes of work UNEP/CBD/WGRI/1/10 Reporting mechanisms under the Convention and other conventions I invite you to submit comments on these documents to the Secretariat as soon as possible but preferably no later than 1 July 2005. The submissions will be taken into account in finalizing documentation for the Working Group. I wish to thank you for your cooperation and continued support to the work of the Convention.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, representatives of observers and organizations