Notification 2009-043

Dear Madam/Sir, The Conference of the Parties, in its decision VIII/14, decided that Parties shall submit the fourth national report by 30 March 2009 and, to this end, requested the Global Environment Facility to provide eligible countries with the financial support necessary for the preparation of this report. So far, 90 eligible countries have received funding (up to 20,000 USD per country) to prepare their reports through Phases I and II of a medium-sized project. I am pleased to inform that Phase III of a medium-sized project to fund the preparation of the fourth national report has recently been approved by the Global Environment Facility. This phase can support a total of 40 countries, with up to 20,000 USD for each country. I would like to urge you to submit your country request as soon as possible to Ms. Esther Mwangi (Esther.Mwangi@unep.org), UNEP GEF Division. The country request should be submitted together with an endorsement letter signed by your country’s national focal point for the GEF. A country request template and model endorsement letter, in English, French and Spanish, are available on the Convention’s website at https://www.cbd.int/reports/funding/. In order to provide more time for the processing and approval of your request, please ensure that all requested information is provided to Ms. Mwangi. Under normal circumstances, the time needed for the processing and approval of a country request ranges from a few weeks to a few months. If you wish to inquire about the status of your request approval, please send a message directly to Ms. Mwangi, or to Mr. Lijie Cai (lijie.cai@cbd.int), SCBD Programme Officer for National Reports, who will facilitate the process. We sincerely hope that this will accelerate the preparation of your country’s fourth national report and its early submission. As I emphasized in earlier notifications, the timely submission of the fourth national reports by all Parties is crucial for assessing progress towards the 2010 Biodiversity Target and ensuring the success of the International Year of Biodiversity and the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, including the development of the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook. Your support and cooperation in this regard are highly appreciated. We look forward to receiving your fourth national report soon. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points of those eligible countries that have not applied for funds for preparation of the fourth national report