Notification 2015-074

Dear Madam/Sir, In its decision I/8, the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing adopted a strategic framework for capacity-building and development to support the effective implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. It also established an informal advisory committee (IAC) to provide advice to the Executive Secretary on matters of relevance to the assessment of the effectiveness of the strategic framework in accordance with the terms of reference contained in annex II to decision NP-1/8. The informal advisory committee will comprise 15 experts selected by the Executive Secretary on the basis of nominations by Parties to the Nagoya Protocol and shall also include representatives of indigenous and local communities and relevant organizations. Pursuant to the above decision, by notification 2015-050 of 5 May 2015 and in a reminder sent out on 27 May 2015, Parties to the Nagoya Protocol were invited to nominate one expert involved in ABS capacity-building to participate in the IAC. The Secretariat received a total of 21 nominations from Parties. The experts were selected with due regard to the nominees’ expertise and active engagement in ABS capacity-building, equitable geographic representation and gender balance, in accordance with the terms of reference in annex II to decision NP-1/8. Due to the small number of nominations received from Parties in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Western Europe and Others Group, only two members have been selected from each of these regions. Indigenous and local communities as well as international and regional organizations involved in capacity-building to support the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol were also invited to participate in the first meeting of the IAC to be held from 15 to 17 September 2015, in Montreal. Against this background, I am pleased to convey herewith, for your information, the list of experts, as well as representatives from indigenous and local communities, and relevant international and regional organizations invited to participate in the first meeting of the IAC. A letter of invitation will be sent to the selected experts in the coming days together with relevant information concerning the meeting. Documents for the meeting will also be posted in due course on the Secretariat’s web site. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: ABS National Focal Points, CBD National Focal Points (where ABS focal points have not yet been designated), Indigenous and Local Communities and relevant organizations