Notification 2015-136

Dear Madam/Sir, Reference is made to notification 2015-113, issued on 30 September 2015, inviting Parties and other Governments to submit views regarding practical options to further enhance scientific methodologies and approaches for the description of areas meeting the EBSA criteria, pursuant to request by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in paragraph 10 of decision XII/22. Given the limited number of submissions to the Secretariat by the deadline of 15 November 2015, the deadline has been extended to 31 December 2015. Kindly provide your submissions as soon as possible, to facilitate the timely compilation and synthesis of views and suggestions, via e-mail addressed to the Executive Secretary at secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to +1 514 288 6588. By way of reminder, submissions may include, but are not limited to, views and information regarding: (a) Inputs, methodological approaches and outputs of previous regional EBSA workshops; (b) Types of information used to describe areas meeting the EBSA criteria; © Insights from other experiences in applying the EBSA criteria or other relevant compatible and complementary nationally or intergovernmentally agreed scientific criteria, including through national-level exercises (please refer to https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2015/ntf-2015-071-nat-ebsa-en.pdf); (d) Ways in which information compiled, analyzed and synthesized for the regional EBSA workshops has been used for research, planning and/or management purposes, and insights and lessons learned from these experiences; € Categorizing different types of areas described to meet the EBSA criteria, considering how the information used to describe these areas would be useful to different groups of stakeholders and for different research, planning and management purposes; (f) Incorporating new scientific data, including traditional knowledge, into previous EBSA descriptions where new information has become available; and (g) Considerations that may be taken into account when applying the criteria in different types of systems (e.g., frontal zones, upwelling zones, gyres, seamounts). We encourage submissions to be supported by relevant literature, reports, documents, case studies and lessons learned, as appropriate. Thank you for your continued support of the work of the Convention. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points and SBSTTA Focal Points; other Governments; relevant organizations; indigenous peoples and local communities