Notification 2016-028

Dear Madam/Sir, In decision NP-1/2, paragraph 2, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol (COP-MOP) established an informal advisory committee (IAC) to assist the Executive Secretary with the implementation of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House (ABS Clearing-House) and to provide technical guidance with respect to the resolution of technical and practical issues arising from the ongoing development of the ABS Clearing-House. The decision provides that the IAC shall be composed of 15 experts, primarily from Parties, selected on the basis of nominations provided by Parties. Through notification 2014-127 of 4 November 2014, Parties to the Nagoya Protocol were invited to nominate one expert for the IAC and a reminder was sent out on 3 December 2014. Due to the small number of nominations received from Parties from the regions of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean countries (GRULAC), only two members from each of these regions could be selected instead of three. The composition of the IAC was made available in notification 2015-035 dated 23 March 2015 and the first meeting of the IAC was held in Montreal, from 28 to 30 October 2015. More recently, one of the experts nominated by a country from the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) to participate in the IAC has informed the Secretariat that he could no longer be a member of the IAC as he will be taking up new responsibilities. A second meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on the ABS Clearing-House is to be held from 20 to 22 June 2016 at a venue to be confirmed. Against this background, taking into account that additional countries have since become Parties to the Nagoya Protocol and with a view to ensuring that the IAC has adequate regional representation, Parties to the Nagoya Protocol from the CEE, GRULAC and WEOG regions are invited to nominate one expert each as soon as possible but no later than 18 March 2016. Nominated experts should have knowledge of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing and relevant experience with the ABS Clearing-House. Nominations should be in the form of an official letter addressed to the CBD Executive Secretary together with the curriculum vitae and a cover letter from the nominated expert answering the questions contained in the attachment to this notification. The letter should be signed by the National Focal Point for the Nagoya Protocol, or a senior government official, and should contain the name and full contact information of the nominee, including e-mail address. This letter can be scanned and emailed to secretariat@cbd.int or faxed to the Secretariat at +1 514 288 6588. Based on the nominations received, the Executive Secretary will select one additional member for the CEE, GRULAC and WEOG regions on the basis of their expertise, experience and engagement in the ABS Clearing-House, the need to ensure fair and equitable geographical distribution, as well as gender balance. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: ABS National Focal Points of CEE, GRULAC and WEOG countries, CBD Focal Points of CEE and WEOG countries where ABS Focal Points have not yet been designated