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10th
Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity
7-11 February
2005, Bangkok, Thailand
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Earth
Negotiations Bulletin
- ENB |
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Click
on the above days to view previous ENB Web coverage.
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The
tenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-10) of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will convene from
7-11 February 2005 at the United Nations Conference Centre
in Bangkok, Thailand, under the Chairmanship of Alfred
Oteng-Yeboah (Ghana). SBSTTA-10 will be held back-to-back
with the third meeting of the Ad
Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit
Sharing.
The
CBD, negotiated under the auspices of the UN Environment
Programme, was adopted on 22 May 1992, and entered into
force on 29 December 1993. There are currently 188 Parties
to the Convention, which aims to promote “the
conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use
of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of
benefits arising from the use of genetic
resources.”
Under Article 25 of the CBD, SBSTTA is mandated
to provide advice to the Conference of the Parties (COP)
and other subsidiary bodies regarding the implementation
of the Convention. To date, SBSTTA has held nine meetings,
each of which developed recommendations on various
thematic and cross-cutting issues under the Convention,
including recommendations for work programmes on:
agricultural biodiversity; biodiversity of dry and
sub-humid lands;
forest biodiversity; biodiversity of inland waters; marine
and coastal biodiversity; mountain biodiversity; protected
areas; and technology transfer and cooperation. Cross-cutting issues that benefited from SBSTTA consideration include
invasive alien species, biodiversity and climate change,
incentive measures, the ecosystem approach, plant
conservation, taxonomy, indicators of the status and
trends of biodiversity, and sustainable use.
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Following
Decision VII/31 of the seventh COP, island biodiversity was
identified as a new thematic area under the Convention and as the
theme for in-depth consideration by COP-8. According to Decision
VII/31, the Executive Secretary engaged in a preparatory process for
SBSTTA’s work on the issue. The Island Biodiversity Electronic
Forum was launched to gather information on the status and trends
of, and threats to, island biodiversity and related issues. The Ad
Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Island Biodiversity, the
report of which will be available at SBSTTA-10, convened from 13-17
December, in the Canary Islands, Spain. A liaison group meeting is
expected to meet prior to SBSTTA-10 on 5 February, in Bangkok, to
gather comments and suggestions on the proposed programme of work.
On this basis, SBSTTA-10 will consider the status and trends of, and
major threats to, island biodiversity and elements of a programme of
work.
SBSTTA-10
will also review progress on the implementation of the thematic
programmes of work and work on cross-cutting issues, and consider
strategic issues for evaluating progress in implementation of the
Strategic Plan, including the 2010 biodiversity target to
significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss, and
contributions to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In this
regard, SBSTTA-10 will discuss the further development of goals and
sub-targets to facilitate coherence among the programmes of work, as
well as indicators for assessing progress towards the 2010 target.
Other
topics for discussion at SBSTTA-10 include: ways and means to remove
perverse incentives; agricultural biodiversity, including the report
of the AHTEG on genetic use restriction technologies and options for
a cross-cutting initiative on biodiversity for food and nutrition;
the Global Taxonomy Initiative; and terms of reference for an AHTEG
to develop advice on synergies between activities addressing
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, desertification, land
degradation and climate change. It is also proposed that SBSTTA-10
respond to Decision VII/13 and establish an AHTEG to address gaps
and inconsistencies in the international regulatory framework
relating to invasive alien species.
The
recommendations adopted by SBSTTA-10 will be forwarded to COP-8,
which is expected to convene in the first quarter of 2006.
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Please return
on 7 February for complete ENB coverage of SBSTTA-10
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This
service was prepared in cooperation with the CBD Secretariat
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