Notification 2015-080

Dear Madam/Sir, I have the pleasure to announce that the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is organizing a series of capacity-building workshops to facilitate the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12 over the 2015 and 2016 period, with the generous financial support from the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity Fund. The second workshop of this series targets Mesoamerica, South America and the Caribbean sub-regions and will be held in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, from 28 September to 1 October 2015, following the VII Brazilian Congress on Protected Areas. The Ministry of Environment, Government of Brazil and the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio) are hosting this workshop in collaboration with the State of Paraná and Boticário Foundation. The workshop will be conducted in English with Spanish translation. Meeting documents and logistical information will be posted on the CBD website at http://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=PAWS-2015-02 in due course. In decision XI/24, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention invited Parties to undertake major efforts to achieve all elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11. The fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4) has reported varying levels of progress for elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11. While the quantitative elements of the target (to protect 17 per cent of terrestrial and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas) are considered to be on track to be achieved at the global level by 2020 for both terrestrial and marine areas within national jurisdiction, the other elements relating to ecological representation, coverage of areas important for biodiversity, management effectiveness, governance, and integration of protected areas into wider land- and seascapes, still need more attention in order to be achieved. In addition, Aichi Biodiversity Target 12 has not had significant overall progress and requires concrete commitments and actions to enhance implementation. The workshop is being organized in response to the above and as a follow-up to CBD notification 2015-027 issued on 9 March 2015, which advised that “the Secretariat stands ready to assist Parties, as may be required, including through the compilation of relevant information and, subject to available funding, plans to provide a platform for discussing the specific planned actions of Parties to address conservation gaps via webinars, online courses and face-to-face capacity-building workshops”. The aims of the workshop are to: (a) Collect and share information and data on the status of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 (quantitative elements, ecoregions, areas important for biodiversity, management effectiveness, governance and equity, other effective area-based conservation measures and integration of protected areas into wider land- and seascapes) and 12 (known threatened species and conservation status of species in decline); (b) Identify priority actions for Mesoamerica, South America and the Caribbean for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12 and explore opportunities for advancing these actions through financial support from national budgets and from bilateral and multilateral sources including the biodiversity allocations of the sixth replenishment cycle of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF-6) System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR); and (c) Share experiences, assessments, case studies, identified priority actions and other relevant information on Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12, with a view to discussing and highlighting commonalities, as well as building partnerships for project development and implementation. Through this workshop, the Secretariat intends to offer capacity-building to Parties, including elements of training, as well as provide opportunities for exchange of country experiences, best practices and lessons learned. These capacity-building activities respond to a request from the COP to the Executive Secretary in paragraph 10 of decision XI/24. Submission of nominations from Governments I am pleased to invite your Government to nominate one representative by 31 July 2015 to participate in the workshop. Eligible country participants will receive financing from the CBD Secretariat to facilitate their participation. Nominations should be submitted through an official letter of nomination addressed to the Executive Secretary and should be accompanied by the attached nomination form and the nominees’ CV. All three documents should be sent via e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int, or by fax at + 1 514 288 6588. Nominated representatives should be chosen based on the following criteria. The participant should: (a) Represent the authority managing protected areas (e.g. the protected areas focal point, or another expert from the Ministry of Environment); (b) Have the ability to report on the current status of achieving the elements of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12, and provide an assessment of needs; (c) Be knowledgeable about the status of integrating protected area plans and actions into revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and other national planning documents and policies; and (d) Have the ability to translate the knowledge gained into concrete actions. In the weeks leading up to the workshop, the participants will be provided with pre-work questions on the status of Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12 and asked to submit identified priority actions for their achievement. Participants may present collated information or case studies at the workshop and will also be offered the opportunity to benefit from online learning modules on key protected areas themes. Other in-country staff may also wish to take these modules. I look forward to receiving your nominations and I thank you for your cooperation and continued support to the work of the Convention.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points of: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)