21st meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical & Technological Advice

December 11th to 14th 2017
Montreal, Canada
Article 25 of the Convention on Biological Diversity establishes an open-ended intergovernmental scientific advisory body known as the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) to provide the Conference of the Parties (COP) and, as appropriate, its other subsidiary bodies, with timely advice relating to the implementation of the Convention. This meeting will address:
  • GEO BON activities
  • Future projections of biodiversity and ecosystem services
  • Use of biodiversity scenarios at local, national and regional scales
  • Shared socioeconomic pathways
  • Initiatives towards sustainable wild meat sectors
  • Wildlife management and combatting illegal wildlife trade
  • CITES listed species in the Amazon
  • The global state of the application of biodiversity-inclusive impact assessments
  • Options on how to make the best use of existing programs for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2020.
More info: https://www.cbd.int/meetings/SBSTTA-21 https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/ede9/9161/94ada923478ff9c9fd7304f3/sbstta-21-inf-01-en.pdf

Tenth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity

December 13th to 16th 2017
Montreal, Canada
The tenth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions will address the compilation of views and comments submitted to the Secretariat regarding the repatriation of traditional knowledge, task 15 of the programme of work on the Article 8(j), to assist the Working Group in its discussions. Submissions were received from: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, European Union and its Member States together with national contributions from Finland and Sweden; Mexico; Peru; Venezuela; Coordinadora de Organizaciones Indigenas de la Cuenca Amazonica (COICA); Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia; Red de Mujeres Indigenas sobre Biodiversidad de America Latina y el Caribe; and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. In line with Article 8(j) of the Convention, traditional knowledge, innovations and practices should be respected, protected, maintained and promoted, and used in local ecosystem management, drawing upon experiences of customary use, with the approval of relevant communities. Likewise, in line with Article 10(c), customary use of biological resources that is compatible with conservation and sustainable use, should be protected and encouraged. The rights of indigenous and local communities over their traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and related biological resources, along with their rights to practice and pass on traditional knowledge, innovations and practices should be respected. More info: https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/tk/wg8j-10/information/wg8j-10-inf-01-en.pdf https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/87d4/dc5a/3d7f1ae9b1cd5646830a40ae/wg8j-10-07-en.pdf https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/rationale/target-18/

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 6th Plenary Session

March 17th to 24th 2018
Medellin, Colombia at the Intercontinental Hotel
*Register by December 7th, 2017
IPBES is the global science-policy platform tasked with providing the best-available evidence to inform better decisions affecting nature – by Governments, businesses and even individual households. In March, 2018, representatives of 127 Governments will receive, for approval, five landmark assessment reports describing the state of knowledge about biodiversity, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people. Prepared by more than 550 leading international experts from more than 100 countries, working with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the evaluations cover four world regions — the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Europe and Central Asia, i.e. the whole world except Antarctica and the open oceans. Each regional assessment report will address:
  • How biodiversity, ecosystem functions and nature’s contributions to people affect economies, livelihoods, food security and good quality of life. In other words: why is biodiversity important?
  • The status, trends and potential future dynamics of biodiversity, ecosystem functions and nature’s contributions to people, which affect their contributions to economies, livelihoods and human well- being. In other words: are we making progress or are we still destroying biodiversity and undermining human wellbeing?
  • The pressures driving changes in biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. In other words: what are the threats to biodiversity?
  • The actual and potential impacts of policies and actions on the contributions of nature to sustainable economies, livelihoods, food security and good quality of life. In other words: what policies and governance structures can lead to a more sustainable future?
  • Priority gaps in knowledge.
A fifth IPBES assessment report, also due to be approved and launched at the same meeting, examines land degradation and restoration, both regionally and globally. More info: https://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/general_message_primer_en.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7RFnhJi-Q0

22nd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice

July 2nd to 7th, 2018
Montreal, Canada
This meeting will address:
  • Digital sequence information on genetic resources
  • Risk assessment and management of living modified organisms
  • Synthetic biology
  • Updated assessments of progress towards Aichi Biodiversity Targets
  • Protected areas and conservation management
  • Marine and coastal biodiversity
  • Biodiversity and climate change: ecosystem based approaches to climate change and adaptation
  • Invasive species
  • Conservation and sustainable use of pollinators
More info: https://www.cbd.int/meetings/SBSTTA-22

Conference of the Parties (COP) 14

December 10th to 22nd 2018
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
The Conference of the Parties is the governing body of the Convention, and advances implementation of the Convention through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another. More info: https://www.cbd.int/cop/ http://sis.gov.eg/Story/107130?lang=en-us  ]]>