Notification 2016-064

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to invite Parties, other Governments and relevant global and regional organizations and initiatives in the South Pacific region to nominate participants for the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Regional Capacity Development Workshop for the South Pacific, to be held from 31 October to 4 November 2016, in Apia, Samoa. The workshop is being convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and hosted by the Government of Samoa, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO/Australia) and the French Marine Protected Areas Agency (Agence des aires marines protégées), as well as various other relevant international and regional organizations and initiatives. The organization of this workshop is being financially supported by the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity Fund, the Government of France, through the Agence des aires marines protégées, and CSIRO/Australia. The workshop seeks to enhance the capacity of countries in the region to conserve and sustainably use marine and coastal biodiversity to support the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for dialogue and experience-sharing across different sectors, and aims to: (i) identify and consolidate common priorities among different sectors and stakeholders for conservation, management and sustainable economic growth in marine and coastal areas; (ii) identify common challenges to sustainable management of marine and coastal resources; (iii) identify successful experiences that can be supported and scaled up to overcome these challenges; (iv) outline ways to enhance cross-sectoral coordination, planning and management (including through tools such as marine spatial planning); and (v) produce tangible strategies for developing/enhancing cross-sectoral planning and management in each country. SOI is a global platform that aims to build partnerships and enhance capacity to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in marine and coastal areas (in particular Targets 6, 10 and 11). Its implementation is being coordinated by the CBD Secretariat in collaboration with various SOI partners. SOI was created on the margins of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD to respond to the need for training and capacity-building of developing country Parties with regard to marine conservation and management, as emphasized by the COP in decision X/29. Furthermore, in decision XII/23, the COP requested the Executive Secretary to organize, in collaboration with Parties and relevant organizations, additional capacity-building workshops and partnership activities within the framework of SOI to address priority issues identified for respective regions concerning the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in marine and coastal areas. In addition, at the twelfth meeting of the COP, the CBD Secretariat convened the Sustainable Ocean Initiative High-level Meeting, as a parallel session to the COP 12 High-level Segment, in collaboration with the Korea Maritime Institute and with the support of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea. This meeting welcomed a new SOI Action Plan for 2015-2020 (available at: http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/soiom-2014-02/official/soiom-2014-02-actionplan-en.pdf), as a comprehensive framework of implementing SOI activities in support of CBD Parties in achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets in marine and coastal areas. Submission of nominations from Governments CBD Parties and other Governments in the region are asked to nominate two experts to participate in this workshop. Specifically, nominations should include one expert involved in marine biodiversity conservation, such as marine protected areas or other area-based conservation measures, and one expert involved in sustainable fisheries management. The Secretariat is in a position to finance the participation of two experts from each eligible Party. Nominations must be submitted through the appropriate national focal point to the CBD. A list of CBD national focal points can be found here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/lists/nfp-cbd.pdf. Nominations should include: i) an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, signed by the national focal point, indicating the name and full contact details of the nominees; ii) the attached completed nomination form and iii) the curriculum vitae of the nominees, clearly indicating their areas of expertise and experience. Submission of nominations from relevant organizations Relevant organizations and initiatives are invited to nominate one expert to participate in this workshop, through the head of the organization/initiative. Nominations should include: i) an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, signed by the head of the organization/initiative, indicating the name and full contact details of the nominee; ii) the attached completed nomination form and iii) the curriculum vitae of the nominee, clearly indicating the areas of expertise and experience of the nominee. All nominations must be received as soon as possible but no later than Friday, 1 July 2016 (scanned and attached to an e-mail addressed to secretariat@cbd.int; or faxed to +1 (514) 288-6588). Workshop materials will be forwarded to the selected experts and posted on the CBD website in due course. The workshop will be conducted in English.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points in Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, France, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Niue, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, other Governments, Agence des aires marines protégées, Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, SPREP, CSIRO, indigenous peoples and local communities; and other relevant global or regional organizations/initiatives