Notification 2009-155

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that a Regional Consultation for Africa on the updating and revision of the Strategic Plan of the Convention for the post-2010 period will be held from 11 to 12 December 2009 in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting is supported by the Regional Office for Africa of the United Nations Environment Programme and the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa, which is being implemented by the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GTZ) on behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The workshop will be held back-to-back with the 4th Pan-African ABS Workshop held at the same venue, 6 – 10 December, 2009 As you are aware, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, at its tenth meeting in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010, is due to adopt a revised and updated Strategic Plan for the CBD, including post-2010 biodiversity target(s), on the basis of a recommendation by the third meeting of the ad hoc open-ended Working Group on the Review of Implementation of the Convention (WGRI-3) and inputs from the fourteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-14) both to be held in Nairobi in May 2010. As set out in decision IX/9, Parties and observers are invited to submit their views on the process. This workshop is one of a number of regional meetings organized by the Secretariat and its partners to facilitate consultations among Parties. Accordingly, as a representative of your country participating in ABS Workshop, I would like to invite you to participate in this consultation. Confirmation of your participation should be sent as soon as possible and no later than 20 November 2009, to secretariat@cbd.int with copy to kamar.yousuf@unep.org and melanie.bassiouris@gtz.de. Limited funds are available from UNEP to support the participation of representatives from eligible countries. Upon confirmation of your participation, further information on travel and hotel arrangements, funding and documentation for the meeting will be duly communicated. Please, Sir/Madame, accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: Participants in the ABS Capacity Development Workshop; Cc: CBD National Focal Points (African countries)