We are releasing this issue of Business.2010 as a contribution to SBSTTA-13 which will be considering, amongst other agenda items, the in-depth review of the implementation of the Programme of Work on Agricultural Biodiversity. This is also fitting, given that the theme of the International Biodiversity Day, this year, is ‘agriculture and biodiversity’.

Over the last few months, we have continued to witness tangible signs of an increasing interest in the business and biodiversity agenda. Following from the lead provided by Portugal in November 2007, several business and biodiversity events are planned in the run-up to the COP. The Secretariat is actively participating in a number of these.

The Secretariat, for instance, worked with the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business in the design of a seminar for MBA students and we were delighted to participate in the first session which took place in late January.

In Canada, Deloitte and IUCN, with the support of the Government of Canada, as well as the Secretariat, are organizing a conference on business and biodiversity in April.

The business and biodiversity conference — organized on 2-3 April by GTZ and the Global Nature Fund, in Bonn, Germany — will prove, I am sure, an important milestone in the preparation of the COP.

In the centre pages of this issue, we have compiled the first edition of a guide to business-related events at COP-9 which also includes an overview of pre-COP business related events.

In December 2007, the Secretariat signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of The Netherlands which focuses, inter alia, on business engagement. This agreement contributes, in particular, to the development of this newsletter.

As usual, I would like to sincerely thank all contributors for taking time to share their experience and contribute to the business and biodiversity agenda. I invite Parties, the business community and others to submit contributions for the April issue which will focus on COP-9.