Notification 2015-105

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to inform you that a sub-regional capacity-building workshop on financial reporting and resource mobilization for Central America and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries will be held on 26-27 October 2015 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The sub-regional workshop is organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It will be hosted by the Government of Costa Rica, with financial support provided by the European Union and the Government of Japan. The meeting will be held in Spanish language. The workshop is part of a series of capacity-building workshops and webinars, organized pursuant to the request of the Conference of the Parties (paragraph 32 of decision XII/3). In decision XII/3, Parties adopted five targets for resources mobilization (paragraph 1), as well as the revised Financial Reporting Framework (paragraphs 14 and 24), and invited parties and other Governments to report thereon, using online reporting systems, where feasible, by 31 December 2015. The objective of the workshop is to enhance the capacity of participants to apply methodologies, frameworks and tools for financial reporting and the development of national finance plans, by sharing and reviewing experiences in applying such methodologies, frameworks and tools; and by providing voluntary guidance thereon, based on the report of the international technical expert workshop on this topic, which was held on 5-7 May 2015 in Mexico City, Mexico. The workshop will be preceded by a mandatory webinar providing a succinct introduction to the Financial Reporting Framework. The webinar is tentatively scheduled to take place on 13 October 2015 at 9 a.m. Costa Rica time (Central Standard Time, CST); the necessary technical information, including the final date and time, will be communicated to the workshop participants in due course. I invite your Government to nominate two officials to participate in the sub-regional workshop as well as the preceding webinar, namely: • An official in charge of resource mobilization for the implementation of the revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of your country; and • An expert from the national statistical department, or similar agency, working on identifying and compiling statistical information on environmental or biodiversity-related expenditures. The nominees proposed should be in a position to translate the capacity and insights gained from the sub-regional workshop to enable their government to provide the financial report to the CBD within the above-mentioned timeframe. Nominations should be submitted using the attached nomination form, accompanied by an official letter of nomination, to the Secretariat at secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to + 1 514 288 6588, as soon as possible but no later than 18 September 2015. The participation of nominated representatives from eligible countries will be supported with a direct, economy-class round-trip ticket and a Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for the duration of the sub-regional workshop, in accordance with relevant United Nations rules. I look forward to receiving your nominations and thank you for your support and cooperation. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD and Resource Mobilization Focal Points of: Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama