Notification 2012-096

Dear Madam/Sir, At CoP 10 in Nagoya, Japan, in adopting the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the Conference of the Parties in its decision X/2 requested Parties to revise/update their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in line with the framework of the Strategic Plan. To facilitate this, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) organized in 2011, with the generous support of the Government of Japan, a series of regional and sub-regional workshops for revising and updating NBSAPs. Further information on these workshops can be found at: http://www.cbd.int/nbsap/workshops2.html. In its decision X/2, the Conference of the Parties also urged Parties to monitor and review the implementation of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, using SMART indicators, developed for the overall Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, and to report progress with implementation through the 5th National Report. In addition, the Conference of the Parties, in its decision X/8, invited Parties to consider the ways to conserve, sustainably use and restore biodiversity and ecosystem services. To further support this process and to facilitate the identification of national targets and their integration into revised/updated national biodiversity strategies and action plans, I am pleased to inform you that, thanks to the continuing financial support provided by the Government of Japan, a follow-up regional workshop for the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions will be held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, from 10 to 14 September 2012. The workshop is organized by the CBD Secretariat, in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Secretariat of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) and the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership. The main purpose of the workshop is to address issues that countries in the region may encounter while updating their NBSAPs and mainstreaming these NBSAPs in other economic sectors. The workshop will also focus on the use of indicators to monitor biodiversity at national and regional levels in the context of monitoring progress towards the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This session of the workshop will be facilitated by UNEP-WCMC for the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership. In addition, the workshop will focus on the use of ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation that includes conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy to reduce direct pressures on and promote sustainable use of biodiversity. This session of the workshop (an additional day) will be facilitated by the PEBLDS Secretariat with financial support provided by the Government of Norway. To allow this focus, we will engage with nominated participants to develop a workshop programme that addresses identified needs and challenges. Further information is available at: http://www.cbd.int/nbsap/workshops2.shtml. In light of the above, I am pleased to invite you to nominate two representatives of your Government to participate in this workshop. The nomination should be in the form of an official letter addressed to the CBD Executive Secretary signed by yourself, or a senior government official, and should contain the nominees’ names and full contact information, including email addresses. This letter can either be scanned and emailed to secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to the Secretariat at + 1 514 288 6588, no later than July 6, 2012. In submitting nominations, Parties are requested to note that one participant should be directly responsible for the development, updating and/or implementation of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan. The other participant should be involved in the mainstreaming of biodiversity into national development/poverty reduction programmes, or into relevant economic sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, or working to promote coordinated implementation of the biodiversity-related conventions (CITES, CMS, ITPGRFA, Ramsar and WHC). We would like this workshop to be as practical and useful as possible. For this reason, please notify us, through the nomination process, of any aspect of your country’s NBSAP revision process which you would like to be discussed and used as an example during the workshop. Please note that the workshop will be held in Russian with simultaneous interpretation to English, although some presentations will be made in English. Upon receipt of nominations, further information on travel and hotel arrangements will be duly communicated to nominated participants. We look forward to receiving your early nominations. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan