Notification 2020-033

Dear Madam/Sir, Further to Notification 2020-029 (https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2020/ntf-2020-029-upcomings-en.pdf) issued on 13 March 2020, the Secretariat, in consultation with the COP and SBSTTA Bureaux, has made arrangements for the following meetings to be held in Montreal, Canada: • Twenty-fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 24): 17-22 August 2020 • Third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 3): 24-29 August 2020 In addition, the workshop on the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) will be held on 15 August 2020, open to all participants of the SBSTTA 24 and SBI 3 meetings. These changes have been made necessary by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Secretariat will continue to keep the situation under review. Please disregard Notification 2020-032 issued on 23 March 2020. The Secretariat regrets any inconvenience caused by the change in dates. Taking into account nominations received for the meetings as per Notification 2020-008 (https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2020/ntf-2020-008-sbstta-sbi-en.pdf), issued on 17 January 2020, Parties, other Governments and observers who have already registered for these meetings do not need to re-register. For additional nominations, in accordance with usual practices, the designation of representatives to attend the SBSTTA 24 and SBI 3 meetings should be made through an official letter of nomination addressed to the CBD Executive Secretary, and sent by e-mail to: secretariat@cbd.int, as soon as possible but no later than 31 May 2020. For Parties eligible to receive financial support, the deadline to solicit such assistance is extended to 15 April 2020. As noted in the earlier notification, the provisional agenda for the two meetings are available at the respective meeting web pages at: https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=SBSTTA-24 and https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=SBI-03. Other documentation will be made available in due course at the same web pages. The online side-event registration system for the SBSTTA 24 and SBI 3 meeting is open at the following link: www.cbd.int/side-events. The deadline for submission of side events request has been extended to 19 June 2020. As a consequence of these changes, the dates for the third meeting of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and concurrent meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols will need to be adjusted. We are currently exploring alternative dates with the Host Governments, in consultation with the COP Presidency and the Co-Chairs for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. We will provide further updates in due course. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that, in light of the COVID-19 situation and guidance received from the World Health Organization, the United Nations as well as the Canadian and Quebec Governments, starting 23 March 2020 until further notice, as part of our efforts to assist in containing the spread of the virus, the staff of the Secretariat has been working remotely. Procedures have been put in place to ensure that the operations and work of the Secretariat continues undisrupted. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Acting Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol Focal Points, ABS Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations