Notification 2007-163

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that a regional workshop for Europe on Capacity Building for National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and Biodiversity Mainstreaming organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in collaboration with, and with the generous support of, the International Academy of Nature Conservation, will be held on the Island of Vilm, Germany, from 26 to 30 April 2008. This is one of a series of regional and sub-regional capacity building workshops to be organized during 2008 in response to paragraph 6 of Decision VIII/8, by which the Conference of the Parties recommended that regional and/or sub-regional workshops be convened to discuss national experiences in implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, including consideration of obstacles and ways and means for overcoming the obstacles. The importance of convening these workshops was reiterated at the second meeting of the Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention (Paris, July 9-13 2007). Further information on these workshops is available at: www.cbd.int/nbsap/workshops.shtml. The purpose of the workshop is to strengthen national capacity for the development, implementation, reviewing and updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, through exchange of experiences and training on the use of relevant tools and mechanisms. The workshop will provide an opportunity for countries to identify ways and means for overcoming challenges in the implementation of NBSAPs. A major focus of this workshop will be the integration of biodiversity in national development planning, and the results will inform the ongoing review of implementation of goals 2 and 3 of the Strategic Plan to be considered by the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in May 2008. In light of the above, I am pleased to invite you to nominate a representative to participate in this workshop at your earliest convenience, but no later than 1 February 2008. In submitting nominations, Parties are requested to note that the representative should be responsible for the development and/or implementation of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan and should be in a position to prepare and present a report on progress made in the development, implementation, reviewing and updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, as well as the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors (for example, by using the voluntary guidelines annexed to Decision VIII/8). Moreover, following the workshop, the representative should be in a position to translate the capacity gained into concrete actions in support of national implementation. Please note that the workshop will be held in English. The International Academy of Nature Conservation Isle of Vilm has kindly agreed to cover the costs of travel, accommodation and meals for eligible Parties (including CIS countries and other eligible non-EU member states). Recently acceded EU members from Eastern Europe may apply to the Academy for partial support towards their travel costs. Designation of representatives should be submitted through an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of the CBD Secretariat and sent by fax to number: +1 (514) 288-6588, or as scanned email attachments addressed to: secretariat@cbd.int. In submitting nominations, please provide full contact details including e-mail addresses using the attached registration form which should be returned to andrea.burmester@bfn-vilm.de, with copy to secretariat@cbd.int, so that we are able to follow up with further details about the workshop. We look forward to receiving your nominations, and I thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.

Executive Secretary

To: National Focal Points of CBD Parties of Europe