Notification 2014-138

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to transmit to you, at the request of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an invitation to review and comment on one of the initial outputs from a project being implemented by UNEP on "Improving the effectiveness of and cooperation among biodiversity-related conventions and exploring opportunities for further synergies”. The project is funded by the European Union, with additional support from the Governments of Switzerland and Finland. This project is exploring options for further synergies in implementing the six major biodiversity-related conventions at all relevant levels, with a view to achieving improvements in efficiency and effectiveness through enhanced collaboration and cooperation. The United Nations Environment Programme has prepared a draft “options paper” following an expert meeting that was held in Interlaken, Switzerland from 26 to 28 August 2014. The objectives of this meeting were to review current experiences and views relating to achieving synergies at the global level in implementing the biodiversity-related conventions, and to identify and further explore options for potentially achieving further synergies in the future. Participants in this meeting included representatives of Parties, convention secretariats, and international and regional organizations, as well as a number of other experts identified by UNEP for their experience on issues relating to the objectives of the meeting. The report of the meeting can be found on the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) website at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2014/ntf-2014-138-attachment-01-en.docx. The draft “options paper” presents initial opportunities and options to further enhance collaboration and cooperation at the global level and can also be found on the Secretariat’s website at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2014/ntf-2014-138-attachment-02-en.docx. The “options paper” will be sent by UNEP to its National Focal Points, as well as by the secretariats of the biodiversity-related Conventions included in the study and their National Focal Points in order to ensure the widest possible circulation and review. We therefore apologize for any duplication. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity will also be providing comments on the draft “options paper” taking into account various decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD related to this topic, including XII/6 on Cooperation with other conventions, international organizations and initiatives, and decision XII/26 on Improving the efficiency of structures and processes of the Convention: Subsidiary Body on Implementation. In addition, the Secretariat will take into account the many efforts that it has been engaged in to increase synergies among the biodiversity-related conventions, such as the Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions, and the UNEP-MEA Working Group on Programmatic Cooperation. The United Nations Environment Programme will use the comments to further develop the draft “options paper”, which will then be used as a basis for further discussion in a second expert meeting, to be held in the first half of 2015. Ultimately, the output from this work will be a set of recommendations for the UNEP Executive Director to present to the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2016. Reports from the project will also be made available to each of the biodiversity-related conventions. In light of the above, you are kindly requested to submit your comments to the attention of Mr. Mads Christensen, Assistant Programme Officer - Conventions and Policy Support at The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre by e-mail at: mads.christensen@unep-wcmc.org with a copy to the CBD Secretariat at secretariat@cbd.int at your earliest convenience but no later than 15 January 2015. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points