Notification 2024-035

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have the honour to inform you that the second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Benefit-sharing from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (WGDSI-2) will be held from 12 to 16 August 2024, at the ICAO Conference Centre in Montreal, Canada.

The provisional agenda and annotated provisional agenda, as well as other pre-session and relevant documentation for the meeting, will be made available in due course on the following meeting webpage: https://www.cbd.int/meetings/WGDSI-02
Nominations

The designation of representatives to attend the WGDSI-2 meeting should be submitted through an official letter of nomination addressed to the CBD Executive Secretary, sent as a scanned e-mail attachment to: secretariat@cbd.int, preferably by 31 July 2024. Information regarding online registration will be provided in due course. Early registration is encouraged. The “Information Note for Participants” for the meeting is currently being finalized and will be posted when ready at the above-mentioned meeting page.

Financial support 
Please note that subject to the availability of contributions to the Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BZ), the Secretariat will be in a position to finance the participation of one representative to the meeting from each of the developing country Parties to the Convention, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition.

Parties to the Convention eligible to receive financial support that wish to solicit such assistance are kindly requested to advise the Secretariat at their earliest convenience, but no later than 31 May 2024, through an official letter addressed to the CBD Executive Secretary, of the name and coordinates of their Government’s officially designated representative to benefit from such financial support. In order for travel arrangements to comply with the UN rules and regulations, funding requests submitted after the above deadline cannot be guaranteed.

Furthermore, in accordance with the criteria for the operations of the Voluntary Funding Mechanism to Facilitate the Participation of Indigenous and Local Communities in the Work of the Convention on Biological Diversity and subject to the availability of funds, representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities are invited to submit a request for financial assistance for consideration for the meeting, at their earliest convenience but no later than 31 May 2024. A list of beneficiaries from the indigenous peoples and local communities will be communicated via notification and selected participants will be contacted directly by the Secretariat regarding the necessary arrangements.

Visa application

Delegates requiring a visa to enter Canada will need to apply for the visa as soon as possible and will be provided with a visa assistance letter after accreditation to the meeting. The letter, which will include an IRCC Special Event Code and waiver of relevant visa and biometric fees, will need to be included in the E-visa application. Due to long visa processing times, we kindly urge delegates who will require an entry visa to submit their nomination letter to the Secretariat and complete the online registration, if possible, as early as beginning of May to allow sufficient time for review and processing of visa applications by Canadian authorities.

I look forward to your participation and contribution to the meeting.

Please accept, Sir, Madam, the assurances of my highest consideration.

(Signed) David Cooper
Acting Executive Secretary