Notification 2007-125

Dear Madam/Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, at the invitation of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP/4) will be held at the Maritim Hotel in Bonn, Germany, from 12 to 16 May 2008. Subject to the availability of funding, the meeting will be preceded by regional preparatory meetings. To date, the Secretariat has received the generous financial support from the Government of Germany and the African Union for the African Group preparatory meeting. I am pleased to attach herewith the provisional agenda adopted by the COP-MOP Bureau at its meeting held in Montreal, on 14 October 2007. The pre session documentation of the meeting will be made available as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than three months in advance of the meeting. The pre session documents and information for participants will also be accessible at the Convention website: http://www.cbd.int. In accordance with rule 18 of the rules of procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, I would be grateful if your Government could submit to the Secretariat, as soon as possible, the credentials of your representative(s) and the names of the alternate representative(s) and advisor(s), for the COP-MOP/4. You will find attached herewith, for your convenience, a sample format of appropriate credentials for the meeting, which should be signed by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, except in the case of regional economic integration organization, in which case it should be signed by the competent authority of that organization. Accreditation of representatives of Parties to this meeting will not be possible without proper credentials. Subject to the availability of contributions to the Special Voluntary Fund for Facilitating Participation of Parties in the Biosafety Protocol process established by decision BS I/10, and in accordance with the interim policy adopted by the Bureau in this regard, the Secretariat expects to be in a position to finance the participation of one representative to COP MOP/4 from each developing country Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States amongst them, as well as Parties with economies in transition. Countries Party to the Protocol wishing to solicit such assistance are kindly requested to inform the Secretariat of the name and contact information of the designated representative eligible to receive financial support as soon as possible but no later than 31 December 2007. Please note that the Secretariat will be unable to respond positively to requests for financial support after this deadline. In view of the increased security procedures for travellers and budget constraints, and, in order to allow the maximum number of countries to participate in the meeting, the Secretariat will be using special airfare tickets for sponsored delegates. This imposes restrictions with respect to changes of passenger name, travel date and itinerary. In this regard, it will not be possible for the Secretariat to accommodate name changes after 15 April 2008. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: All National Focal Points to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, CBD National Focal Points where Biosafety Focal Points have not yet been nominated