Education
and public awareness (article 13)
The Conference of the
Parties,
Taking note
of the report of the meeting of the Consultative
Working Group of Experts on Communication, Education and Public
Awareness (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/17/INF/10) and, in particular, the matrix
in the report, which summarizes suggestions and proposals to
enhance the implementation of the Global Initiative on
Communication, Education and Public Awareness, including, inter
alia, key elements required to develop an operational strategy
to guide the implementation of the three programme elements in a
coherent and consistent manner (including prioritization,
clarification of intended audience, activities, means and resources
to undertake the identified activities, institutional arrangements,
results to be generated, as well as the reporting mechanisms on
implementation and impacts of outputs).
Noting further that communication, education and public
awareness are essential elements for the successful and effective
implementation of the programmes of work of the Convention on
Biological Diversity and also for facilitating the process of
mainstreaming biodiversity into national sectoral policies and
programmes,
1. Welcomes the efforts of the Executive Secretary and
progress achieved in the implementation of the Global Initiative on
Communication, Education and Public Awareness, taking into
consideration the limited financial resources available for these
efforts;
2. Welcomes the report of the fourth meeting of the
Consultative Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity
Education and Public Awareness and the proposals contained therein
for further implementation of communication, education and public
awareness which are attached as an annex to the report of the
meeting;
3. Invites Parties to take into consideration the
need to communicate the various elements of the 2010 biodiversity
target and to establish appropriate linkages to the Decade on
Education for Sustainable Development in the implementation of
their respective national CEPA programmes and
activities;
4. Requests the Executive Secretary to:
(i) Allocate a
specific post to facilitate the implementation and further
development of Article 13 on education and public
awareness;
(ii) Convene an informal
advisory committee on communication, education and public
awareness, which would meet at the next meeting of SBSTTA to
further develop the CEPA work programme for in-depth consideration
by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting. This
informal advisory committee would meet at subsequent meetings of
SBSTTA and the Conference of the Parties, as is the current
practice for the informal advisory committee for the clearing-house
mechanism;
(iii) Invite Parties to assist
the Executive Secretary in the implementation of this action
through voluntary contributions to secure the implementation of the
work programme;
(b) Continue
the collaborative efforts with the CEPA programmes of other
relevant organizations including the Rio Conventions to enhance
coordination and maximize synergies;
(c) Report
to the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting on progress
in the implementation of the identified priority activities in the
CEPA programme of work;
5. Invites donor organizations to make available the
required financial support for the implementation of the identified
priority activities in the CEPA programme of work;
6. Invites donor organizations to provide funding to
developing countries, particularly the least developed and small
island developing States among them, and countries with economies
in transition for the implementation of their national CEPA
programmes and activities;
7. Requests Parties to contribute and make available
financial support towards the cost of the production of the second
edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook report for release in
May 2005;
8. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to
availability of funding, to publish the third edition of the
Handbook on the Convention on Biological Diversity, including the
decisions of the Conference of the Parties up to [TU1] its seventh meeting, in
the United Nations languages.
