Notification 2011-173

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that the twelfth meeting of the Coordination Mechanism for the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) will be held in Montreal, Canada, from 5 to 6 November 2011, immediately prior to the fifteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Matters (SBSTTA15), which will be held from 7-11 November. . The twelfth meeting of the GTI Coordination Mechanism has the mandate to prepare for the coordination of regional and global actions to implement the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, taking into account the identified needs and priorities in taxonomy. The members of the Coordination Mechanism, as well as other organizations, have been invited to participate in this meeting. Please find attached the structure of the GTI Coordination Mechanism (Annex I), and the draft provisional agenda for the meeting (Annex II). Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Annex I COMPOSITION OF THE GTI COORDINATION MECHANISM Africa: 1. Pearl Dijeng Lebathanee Motsepe (Botswana) 2. Mohamed Elyes Kchouk (Tunisia) Asia and the Pacific: 3. Saw Leng Guan (Malaysia) 4. Qin Haining (China) CEE: 5. Alexey Kotov (Russia) 6. Karol Marhold (Slovakia) GRULAC: 7. Patricia Koleff (Mexico) 8. Fernando Omar Zuloaga (Argentina) WEOG: 9. Mark S. Graham (Canada), Chair 10. Peter Buchanan (New Zealand) Organizations: 11. Peter Herkenrath (UNEP-WCMC) 12. Filiberto A. Pollisco, Jr (ASEAN Center for Biodiversity) 13. Christoph Haeuser (Consortium of Scientific Partners for Biodiversity) 14. David Ramsen (GBIF) 15. Robert Hanner (International Barcode of Life) 16. Christopher H.C. Lyal (Natural History Museum) 17. Scott Miller (Smithsonian Institutions) Ex-officio members: 18. Representative of COP10 Presidency (Japan) 19. Representative of COP11 Presidency (India) The following organizations will participate in the Coordination Mechanism at my invitation: 20. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 21. Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention; 22. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; 23. Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; 24. United Nations Environment Programme; 25. BioNET International; 26. IUCN – the International Union for Conservation of Nature 27. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 28. World Federation for Culture Collections Annex II DRAFT PROVISIONAL AGENDA 1. Opening of the meeting 2. Organizational matters: 2.1. Officers; 2.2. Adoption of the agenda; 2.3. Organization of work. 3. Substantive matters: 3.1 Overview of “Draft Comprehensive Capacity Building Strategy for the Global Taxonomy Initiative” (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA15/5) 3.2 Guidance on non-commercial research under the Nagoya Protocol 3.3 Identification of relevant international workshops and technical trainings in 2011-2012. 3.4 Coordination of international workshops and technical trainings in 2011-2012 4. Other matters 5. Adoption of the report 6. Closure of the meeting

Executive Secretary

To: GTI focal points