Notification 2017-123

Dear Madam/Sir, I am pleased to announce the opening of the registration for participation in the Online Forum in preparation for the Capacity Development Programme on national arrangements for the protection and promotion of traditional knowledge with a view to achieving Target 18 and to contributing to Target 16 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. The Online Forum is jointly developed by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Development Programme, through the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) Forum, in collaboration with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), and the Indigenous Women’s Network on Biodiversity (IWNB). This Online Forum is organized within the scope of the CBD project entitled Capacity Development Programme on national arrangements for achieving traditional knowledge elements of targets 18 and 16 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. With a view to achieving Aichi Target 18 (on traditional knowledge) and contributing to Target 16 (Nagoya Protocol) of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, the goal of the project is to build the capacity of Parties to develop action plans for the development of national arrangements to support implementation of: - Article 8(j) of the Convention concerning traditional knowledge; - The articles of the Nagoya Protocol concerning traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources. The Online Forum will take place on 30 November 2017 through the NBSAP Forum E-learning Platform. The Online Forum will cover key issues related to developing and implementing national and local arrangements for the protection and promotion of traditional knowledge. It is complemented with a survey regarding the same topic. The outcomes from the Online Forum and the survey will assist the Secretariat in planning four regional capacity development workshops in the African, Asian, Latin American and the Caribbean, and the Pacific regions on the aforementioned topics in 2018. I invite Parties, relevant National Focal Points of the Convention, National Focal Points for Traditional Knowledge, and National Focal Points on Access and Benefit-sharing, as well as indigenous peoples and local communities, and interested organizations to register and engage in this Online Forum and to complete the online survey, mentioned below. Participation in the Online Forum will be taken into account in the selection of participants for the aforementioned regional workshops in 2018. A provisional agenda for the Online Forum can be found at https://www.cbd.int/tk/cb/onlineforum.shtml. Further information, including detailed instructions on how to register, is available at: https://goo.gl/4Uvah2 (English), https://goo.gl/pVK2YL (French), and https://goo.gl/SgYSaN (Spanish). You may register up until the day of the Online Forum which is 30 November 2017. Additionally, in order to assist the Secretariat with the preparation for the global online forum and the regional workshops, I kindly invite you to complete the 10 minutes online survey accessible at: https://goo.gl/ftoSy4 (English); https://goo.gl/Njdj1T (French); https://goo.gl/rqeKv1 (Spanish) as soon as possible but no later than 30 November 2017. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and for your continued support for the work of the Convention and its Nagoya Protocol. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD, TK, ABS Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local community organizations, NGOs, IGOs