1.Recognizing the potential contribution of a Biodiversity Technology Initiative (BTI) to promoting and supporting the effective access to and transfer of relevant technology among Parties to the Convention, as essential elements for the attainment of the three objectives of the Convention,
emphasizes that:
(a)Such a Biodiversity Technology Initiative needs to:
(i)Provide support to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention, the programme of work on technology transfer and scientific and technological cooperation,
46 taking into account the strategy for the practical implementation of the programme of work,
47 as well as of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020;
(ii)Be demand-driven, well-defined, and be based on the technology needs, in particular, new technologies, identified by recipient countries;
(iii)Be driven through the active and balanced participation of developed countries and developing countries, including the least developed and small island developing States among them, as well as countries with economies in transition;
(iv)Be adequately funded, and contribute to leveraging new and additional funding, without constituting an additional financial burden for developing countries;
(v)Provide and leverage increased capacity-building and training for developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, on pertinent issues related to technology transfer and scientific and technological cooperation under the Convention;
(vi)Create an enabling environment that aims to remove technical, legislative and administrative barriers to technology transfer and technology adaptation, consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international obligations;
(vii)Take into account that the participation, approval and involvement of women, indigenous and local communities and all relevant stakeholders is key for the successful transfer of technology of relevance to the Convention;
(viii)Build on, and cooperate with, existing processes and initiatives, including sectoral programmes and initiatives, such as, where relevant, the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), with a view to promoting synergy and avoiding the duplication of work;
(b)Issues such as the nature, structure, governance, funding arrangements, institutional host, etc., need to be further considered in due detail when establishing the initiative;
2.Recognizing the need to further identify gaps in the work of existing processes and initiatives, including sectoral initiatives, with a view to fully realizing synergies and avoiding duplication of work by a prospective Biodiversity Technology Initiative;
(a)Invites Parties and other Governments, as well as relevant international organizations and initiatives, research institutions and the business sector, to submit to the Executive Secretary information on activities currently being undertaken by international, regional or national organizations and initiatives, including sectoral organizations and initiatives, which support, facilitate, regulate or promote technology transfer and scientific and technological cooperation of relevance to the Convention, such as on:
(i)Support for technology needs assessments and regulations, including capacity-building for technology assessments;
(ii)Pertinent capacity-building and training courses;
(iii)Pertinent seminars and symposia;
(iv)Information dissemination;
(v)Other implementation activities including match-making and catalysing or facilitating the establishment of research-centre networks, alliances or consortia, joint ventures, twinning arrangements, or other proven mechanisms, on technologies of relevance to the Convention;
(b)Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of funds, to analyse and disseminate this information through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention, and other communication mechanisms, with a view to providing concrete and practical information as well as best practices on ongoing activities that support, facilitate, or promote technology transfer and scientific and technological cooperation of relevance to the Convention, and to identify gaps in existing work as well as opportunities to fill these gaps and/or promote synergies;
(c)Invites interested Parties and other Governments, as well as relevant international organizations and initiatives, research institutions and the business sector, taking into account paragraph 1 above and the information provided in accordance with paragraphs 2 (a) and 2 (b) above, to consider supporting the establishment of a Biodiversity Technology Initiative;
3.Recalling the importance, as underlined in the preamble to its
decision VIII/12, of developing specific approaches to technology transfer and technological and scientific cooperation to address the prioritized needs of countries based on the priorities in national biodiversity strategies and action plans and to link technology needs assessments to those priorities, while avoiding non-specific, global approaches to this issue:
(a)Invites Parties to consider including the preparation of technology needs assessments in the revision and updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and to submit their technology needs assessments to the Executive Secretary;
(b)Requests the Executive Secretary to compile and analyse the technology needs assessments received, taking into account the gap analysis prepared pursuant to paragraph 2 (b) above, to disseminate them through the clearing-house mechanism, and to make the compilation and analysis available to the Conference of the Parties at its eleventh meeting;
(c)Invites funding institutions, including the Global Environment Facility, to provide financial support to the preparation of such technology needs assessments;
4.Welcomes the contribution of the United Nations Environment Programme, under its Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building,
48 in promoting technology transfer under the Convention, and invites the United Nations Environment Programme to continue its cooperation with the Executive Secretary in supporting the implementation of the programme of work on technology transfer and scientific and technological cooperation.
