Retired sections: paragraphs 1-3, 5 and 7 (c) and (d).
Education and public awareness
The Conference of the Parties,
1. Takes note of the information provided by the Executive Secretary
with regard to education and public awareness (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/13, section
IV);
2. Requests the Executive Secretary, in cooperation with the United
Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, to convene a
consultative working group of experts, including the United Nations
Environment Programme, the World Bank, the United Nations Institute for
Training and Research, the Commission for Education and Communication of
IUCN, the World-Wide Fund for Nature, representatives of Parties and other
relevant bodies to further advance and, in particular, to identify priority
activities for the proposed global initiative on biological diversity
education and public awareness;
3. Decides that the working group should take into account
priorities developed by the Conference of the Parties for its work programme,
and, when approved by the Conference of the Parties, priorities identified in
the strategic plan for the Convention;
4. Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, through its education programmes, to actively integrate
biological diversity into all levels of formal education systems as a
component of the development of the global initiative;
5. Endorses paragraph 7 of recommendation IV/1 A of the Subsidiary
Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, which states that
education and public awareness be included in the discussions on the work
programmes on thematic issues;
6. Invites Parties, Governments, organizations and institutions to
support capacity-building for education and communication in biological
diversity as part of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans,
taking into account the global initiative;
7. Requests the Executive Secretary to:
(a) Further develop the public information and outreach activities of
the Secretariat, including through the use of the clearing-house mechanism to
raise awareness of biological diversity issues amongst all sectors of
society, including indigenous and local communities;
(b) Designate a theme each year for the International Day for
Biological Diversity and prepare background information to be placed on the
clearing-house mechanism;
(c) Consult the United Nations Secretariat on the feasibility of
changing the designated date of the International Day for Biological
Diversity to 22 May and provide advice on this matter to the Parties by
February 2001;
(d) Report on progress achieved in developing the global initiative
to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting
