Notification 2010-224

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that, in line with COP decision X/1, paragraph 11, the Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Ad-hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing shall be Mr. Fernando Casas from Colombia and Mr. Timothy Hodges from Canada. With reference to the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol, I wish to inform you that the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee will be preceded by a one-day meeting to elect the members of its Bureau and agree on other organizational matters. To that effect, the President is mandated to undertake the necessary consultations. Following discussions on this matter by the COP 10 Bureau at its meeting held in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on 19 December 2010, I kindly invite Parties to consult with a view to nominate two representatives from each of the UN regions to serve on the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee. The two Co-Chairs will be additional to the ten representatives that are elected on a regional basis. Parties are requested to send the nominations to the Secretariat no later than 1 May 2011 so that the President is able to conclude his consultations before the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee scheduled for 6-10 June 2011. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points and ABS Focal Points