Notification 2019-032

Dear Madam/Sir, On behalf of the President of the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Her Excellency Ms. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment of the Arab Republic of Egypt, I wish to bring to your attention that the following event will be hosted and chaired by Her Excellency at the margins of the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya on 14 March 2019: Event: Advancing the Biodiversity Agenda: Ministerial Roundtable on main outcomes of the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference and the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework Venue: Conference Room 1, United Nations Office at Nairobi Date and time: Thursday, 14 March 2019 from 2pm to 4pm Through separate correspondence, the Ministry of Environment of the Arab Republic of Egypt is inviting all Member States, represented by their Ministers or Heads of Delegation, to participate in this important event in the juncture between COP 14 and COP 15. The Secretariat would like to take the opportunity of the present notification to invite National Focal Points to encourage and support preparation of such representation. The event will contribute to the implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration - Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet, adopted by ministers at the high-level segment of COP 14 (Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration - Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet, https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/2000/ec3f/0cbb700fcf8f8e170b5f4afb/cop-14-12-en.pdf ), and key outcomes of COP 14 and its associated meetings, in particular the design of an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework for adoption at COP 15, in line with decision 14/34 (Comprehensive and participatory process for the preparation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, CBD/COP/DEC/14/34, https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-14/cop-14-dec-34-en.pdf), and the initiative for a coherent approach for addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and land and ecosystem degradation, launched by the Government of Egypt at the high-level segment of COP 14 (Egyptian initiative for a coherent approach for addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and land and ecosystem degradation, https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/f0c4/e7c4/d3f574418b051b944b0578dc/cop-14-inf-47-en.pdf ). The event will also serve to encourage national voluntary contributions towards the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, as well as contributions to the Sharm El-Sheikh to Beijing Action Agenda for Nature and People (Sharm El-Sheikh to Beijing Action Agenda for Nature and People, https://www.cbd.int/cop/cop-14/annoucement/nature-action-agenda-egypt-to-china-en.pdf ), as invited by the COP in decision 14/34. The ministerial roundtable will be framed around three questions which concern, respectively: (1) Advancing progress to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets; (2) Preparation of an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework; and (3) Coherent implementation of biodiversity, climate change and desertification objectives. The questions, to be posed by the Chair to the high-level participants, are aimed to prompt and provide an opening for respondents to provide examples, announce, or affirm, national commitments relevant to these three objectives. While opportunities for interventions will be strictly limited owing to the short duration of the event, the Secretariat, on behalf of H. E. Ms. Yasmine Fouad, would like to invite all delegations who have an interest to do so, to direct requests for interventions, or any enquiries, to Ms. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Director, Division of Implementation Support, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Dr. Hamdallah Zedan, Senior Adviser to the Minister of Environment (Ms. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Director, Division of Implementation Support, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, <jyoti.mathur-filipp@un.org>; Dr. Hamdallah Zedan, Senior Adviser to the Minister of Environment, <hhzedan@hotmail.com>), as soon as possible and no later than 11 March 2019. In doing so, please indicate the name and designation of the Minister or Head of Delegation. In selecting delegations invited to take the floor, the Chair will give due consideration to ensuring balanced regional representation and seeks the understanding of all delegations that it will not be possible to fulfill all requests. Opportunity will be provided to all delegations for all statements prepared for the event, whether delivered or not, to be published on a web page that will summarize the conclusions of the event. Further details of the questions that will be addressed in the event are provided in annex to this notification. Further information concerning logistics and about this and other official side-events at UNEA-4 are available on the UNEA-4 website at: http://web.unep.org/environmentassembly/programme. The Secretariat would further like to take this opportunity to encourage all participants at UNEA 4 to participate in this important event. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Annex Ministerial roundtable on main outcomes of the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference and the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework High-level side-event at UNEA-4 Framing Questions Question 1 – concerning the Aichi Biodiversity Targets: “What can we do between now and 2020 to demonstrate serious commitment and contribution to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets?” The question could prompt and provide an opening for respondents to provide examples, announce, or affirm, national commitments towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Question 2 – concerning the post-2020 global biodiversity framework: “From your perspective as leads in designing the national policy on biodiversity and implementers of the global commitments, what elements must be part of the architecture of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to help you achieve the national objectives in a practical way? What changes do we really need to strengthen implementation on the ground?” The question could prompt and provide an opening for respondents to provide examples, announce, or affirm, national commitments towards the 2050 Vision, such as rules on industry or designation of large protected areas. Question 3 – concerning more coherent implementation of biodiversity, climate change and desertification objectives: “How can we overcome barriers to developing or implementing policy addressing the challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation in a more integrated manner, in order to benefit from the enhanced benefits in effectiveness and efficiencies inherent in such an approach?” The question could prompt and provide an opening for respondents to provide examples, announce, or affirm, national commitments towards addressing the inter-linked challenges of safeguarding biodiversity, mitigating or adapting to climate change, and preventing desertification or restoring degraded land, in an integrated manner.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol Focal Points, ABS Focal Points, relevant organizations