Information

COP 9 Decision IX/21

IX/21.Island biodiversity

The Conference of the Parties
1.Welcomes with appreciation the note by the Executive Secretary on thematic programmes of work (UNEP/CBD/COP/9/19) and the 2008-2010 Strategy of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) contained in document (UNEP/CBD/COP/9/INF/6), and welcomes the work done by the Executive Secretary with Parties and other partners to advance implementation of the programme of work on island biodiversity under the Convention (decision VIII/1, annex), including the development of the island Web portal, the organization of a workshop on the application ecosystem approach to islands and compilation of a list of potential partners for each goal of the programme of work;
2.Recognizes the initiatives and achievements of Parties and major groups in the framework of the programme of work on island biodiversity, through voluntary national, regional and multi-country commitments, such as the Micronesia Challenge, the Caribbean Challenge, the Coral Triangle Initiative, and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, bearing in mind that the programme of work applies to all islands, regardless of their location and geopolitical history;
3.Recognizes the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) as one of the mechanisms to implement the island biodiversity programme of work, welcomes the contribution of some Parties and organizations for having supported the establishment of a coordination mechanism, and invites other Parties, organizations and donor agencies to further support it
4.Welcomes the initiative of New Zealand, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, to host a regional technical workshop for islands, under the programme of work on invasive alien species, to showcase lessons learned from the Pacific Invasives Initiative and provide the opportunity for exchange of experience;
5.Stresses that cooperative work should extend worldwide, as possible and relevant, also through regional approaches and programmes, and encourages the use, as appropriate, of the biogeographical approach when implementing the island biodiversity programme of work on island biodiversity;
6.Stresses that the management and eradication of invasive alien species, climate-change adaptation and mitigation activities, establishment and management of marine protected areas, capacity-building, access to, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, and poverty alleviation require particular efforts in the implementation of the programme of work;
7.Encourages the Executive Secretary to revise the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with a view to including specific joint activities on islands, invasive alien species, impacts of climate change, long-term financing of activities, capacity-building and tourism, and support to the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans;
8.Calls on donor countries, regional development banks and other financial institutions to assist island Parties and Parties with islands by providing additional, adequate, accessible and timely resources to implement the programme of work on island biodiversity;
9.Welcomes the progress made to date in the fourth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility in providing resources for implementation of the island biodiversity programme of work, particularly through the Pacific Alliance for Sustainability programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-PAS), but notes that although small island developing States (SIDS) have been proactive in identifying priorities and in making commitments, the process for accessing the necessary funds from the Global Environment Facility should be further simplified and expedited in the fifth replenishment;
10.Requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to undertake an in-depth review of the programme of work on island biodiversity at one of its meetings after the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to be sent for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its eleventh meeting.
IX/20IX/22