Notification 2015-052

Dear Madam/Sir, The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, at its twelfth meeting, requested the Executive Secretary to report to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) prior to the thirteenth meeting of the COP, specifically on: (i) Exploration of ways and means to address the risks associated with trade in wildlife introduced as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, and as live bait and live food (paragraph 4 of decision XII/16), as well as methods of alerting suppliers and potential buyers to the risk posed by invasive alien species sold via e-commerce (paragraph 9 (d) of decision XII/17); (ii) Synthesis on information from Parties, scientific institutions, and other relevant organizations, on experiences in the use of biological control agents against invasive alien species, in particular the release in the wild of alien species for this purpose, including positive and negative cases and cases of the application of appropriate risk assessment (paragraph 9 (g) of decision XII/17); and (iii) Development of decision-support tools for assessing and evaluating the social, economic and ecological consequences of invasive alien species; cost-benefit analyses for eradication, management and control measures; and tools for examining the impacts of climate change and land-use change on biological invasions (paragraph 9 (c) of decision XII/17). Accordingly, I would like to invite Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to provide information related to invasive alien species and the paragraphs above in preparation for the twentieth meeting of the SBSTTA, to be held from 25 to 29 April 2016, in Montreal, Canada. Each submission of information should be accompanied by the cover note as annexed to this notification and be sent to secretariat@cbd.int no later than 5 September 2015. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, SBSTTA Focal Points, relevant organizations