Notification 2024-106

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am pleased to invite coastal and island Parties, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant global and regional organizations and initiatives in West Africa and North Africa to participate in the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) regional capacity-building workshop for West Africa and North Africa, to be held from 10 to 13 February 2025 in Dakar, Senegal.

The workshop is being convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in collaboration with relevant regional and international organizations and initiatives, and is hosted by the Government of Senegal, with financial support from the Governments of France (French Biodiversity Agency) and the Republic of Korea (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries).

SOI is a global platform that aims to build partnerships and enhance capacity to achieve global goals and targets on marine and coastal biodiversity and its implementation is coordinated by the CBD Secretariat in collaboration with various partners. SOI was created on the margins of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to respond to the need to build the capacity of developing country Parties for the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. Its implementation is being further enhanced within the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its fifteenth meeting in December 2022.

The workshop will focus on the capacity needs of developing countries in the region, in the context of the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It will focus specifically on opportunities to improve the coverage, effectiveness and representativity of area-based conservation through the use of marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.

Parties, indigenous peoples and local communities, and relevant organizations from the region are invited to nominate one expert to participate in this workshop. Nominations must include: (i) an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, signed by the national focal point or head of the organization, indicating the name and full contact details of the nominee; (ii) the curriculum vitae of the nominee, clearly indicating their areas of expertise and experience. Workshop participants will be selected from among these nominations. Nominated experts should work on the topic of area-based conservation tools, such as marine protected areas, and in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the regional, national or local level.

Nominations must be received as soon as possible but no later than 1 December 2024, by e-mail to secretariat@cbd.int.

The Secretariat will finance the participation of one selected expert from each Party. Participants eligible for funding will be provided with air travel and daily subsistence allowance for incidental costs according to UN rules. Workshop materials will be forwarded to the selected participants and posted on the CBD website in due course. The workshop will be conducted mainly in French, with English interpretation.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter and for your continued support to the work of the Convention.

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

(Signed) Astrid Schomaker 
Executive Secretary