Notification 2015-093

Dear Madam/Sir, Reference is made to the notification dated 22 July 2015 (ref no. 2015-084), regarding the nomination of experts to the CBD Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the Seas of East Asia, to be held from 14 to 18 December 2015, in Xiamen, China. As indicated in the above-mentioned notification and pursuant to the requests of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in decisions X/29, XI/17 and XII/22, this regional workshop is being convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in collaboration with the Action Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region (COBSEA), the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (IOC-WESTPAC), the Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP), and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA). Scientific and technical support for this workshop is being provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia. You are invited to provide relevant scientific information in support of the objective of the above-mentioned regional workshop. Information should contribute to the description of EBSAs through application of scientific criteria in annex I of decision IX/20 (http://www.cbd.int/decision/cop/?id=11663), as well as other relevant compatible and complementary nationally and intergovernmentally agreed scientific criteria. We are requesting, in particular, ecological and biological data on marine ecosystems, habitats and species, and/or physical/oceanographic/geological data relevant to the application of the above-mentioned scientific criteria for EBSAs. Relevant scientific information can be submitted in two ways: (1) by using the EBSA information template attached as an appendix to this letter, or (2) through another appropriate format, such as scientific articles, documents, datasets or maps. Please note that the information submitted will be compiled, organized, edited as necessary, and produced as a scientific background document by the Executive Secretary. This scientific background document will be accompanied by a report summarizing the relevant GIS data (to be compiled and analysed by CSIRO) and made available for consideration by the above-mentioned workshop only. In order to allow the Secretariat to prepare necessary scientific input to the above-mentioned workshop in a timely manner, information should be submitted to the CBD Secretariat via an e-mail addressed to secretariat@cbd.int or a fax sent to +1 514 288-6588, as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, 16 October 2015. I thank you for your continued support of the work of the Convention.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points and SBSTTA Focal Points; FAO; IMO; COBSEA; IOC-WESTPAC; NOWPAP; PEMSEA; relevant regional fisheries management organizations; indigenous peoples and local communities; and other relevant global or regional organizations/initiatives