WGRI Recommendation
. Integration of biodiversity into poverty eradication and development
3/3.Integration of biodiversity into poverty eradication and development
The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention
recommends that the Conference of the Parties at its tenth meeting adopt a decision along the following lines:
The Conference of the Parties,
Recognizing the urgent need to improve capacity for mainstreaming the three objectives of the Convention into poverty eradication strategies and plans (e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, national development plans) and development processes as a means to enhance the implementation of Convention and its Strategic Plan and enhance its contribution to sustainable development and human well-being,
Aware of the large number of existing processes, mechanisms and institutions addressing poverty eradication, and the needs to mainstream relevant biodiversity and ecosystem services considerations within existing platforms and initiatives,
Recalling the "Message from Paris" from the Conference on Biodiversity in European Development Cooperation in September 2006 which emphasizes the need for enhanced incorporation of biodiversity considerations into development cooperation,
Recalling the outcomes of the expert meeting on mainstreaming biodiversity in development cooperation held in Montreal, from 13 to 15 May 2009 and hosted by the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat,
Welcomes the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity on 22 September 2010,
1.Calls for enhanced efforts to promote capacity-building for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into broader poverty eradication and development processes as a means to contribute to the implementation of the Convention and its revised Strategic Plan for the period beyond 2010, including the Millennium Development Goals, especially for developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition;
2.Calls for active involvement and commitment of development cooperation agencies and implementing agencies in supporting mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into poverty eradication and development processes;
3.Calls upon all the partners and stakeholders involved in biodiversity and development processes and programmes to strengthen coordination in order to avoid duplication and to facilitate coherence, synergies and complementary strategies and working approaches aiming at sustainable development and poverty eradication;
4.Notes that it is essential to share experiences between countries on how to mainstream and build capacity and to strengthen the scaling up of good practices on sustainable development and poverty eradication;
5.Welcomes the increased efforts and attention to mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into poverty eradication and development;
6.Notes, in efforts to integrate biodiversity into poverty eradication and development processes, the importance of:
(a)Scientific information and the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and their participation in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention;
(b)Mainstreaming gender considerations and promote gender equality;
(c)A South-South cooperation forum on biodiversity for development, the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-Building, and other processes and the need for effective coordination;
(d)Enhanced communication and outreach on the inter-linkages between poverty eradication, development and biodiversity;
7.Notes the potential usefulness of a long-term global effort utilizing regional and national development organizations as nodes for South-South and North-South cooperation to assist country driven processes for an effective mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services in development processes through capacity-building to enhance environmental governance, biodiversity finance mechanisms and the generation, transfer, and adaptation of biodiversity related technologies and innovations through the promotion of win-win solutions to development needs;
8.Invites Parties, other Governments, relevant international organizations such as bilateral development cooperation agencies, multilateral development banks, United Nations agencies and non governmental organizations involved in development cooperation, civil society, the business sector and other relevant stakeholders to contribute to an efficient and coordinated effort;
9.In accordance with Articles 12 and 18 of the Convention, invites Parties to intensify their cooperation to strengthen national and regional capabilities to mainstream biodiversity, by means of human resources development and institution building, taking into account the special needs of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States as well as countries with economies in transition;
10.In accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, invites developed country Parties, other Governments and donors, and the financial mechanism to provide financial and technical support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, to further develop approaches on the integration of biodiversity into poverty eradication and development processes;
11.Welcomes the initiative of developing countries to prepare and adopt a multi-year plan of action on South-South cooperation on biodiversity for development, the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building, as they are relevant processes for the implementation of the framework on capacity-building;
12.Welcomes ongoing initiatives linking biodiversity, development and poverty eradication, such as the Equator Initiative, the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa, the LifeWeb initiative and the Poverty-Environment Initiative;
13.Notes the draft provisional framework for capacity-building on mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable development and poverty eradication annexed to this recommendation;
14.Decides to establish an Expert Group on Biodiversity for Poverty Eradication and Development with the terms of reference outlined in the annex to this decision; 3
15.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to:
(a)Convene a meeting of an expert group on biodiversity for poverty eradication and development;
(b)Prepare for this expert group in consultation with relevant partners, an analysis of the existing mechanisms, processes or initiatives for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into poverty eradication and development, their strengths and weaknesses and to identify opportunities and threats in order to ensure a focused and concrete contribution to the expert deliberations on the draft provisional framework on capacity-building;
(c)Continue and improve while taking into account the outcomes of the expert group:
(i)With the relevant partners, identifying, documenting, promoting and where appropriate supporting the best practices and approaches for integrating biodiversity into poverty eradication and development processes;
(ii)Continuing and strengthening the activities on mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services in development cooperation plans and priorities including the linkage between the Convention's work programmes and the Millennium Development Goals in partnership with development cooperation agencies;
(iii)Promoting, through the clearing house mechanism and other appropriate means, and in support of the expert group on biodiversity for poverty eradication and development, the sharing of knowledge, experience, communication and awareness on mainstreaming biodiversity for poverty eradication and development;
(iv)Assisting Parties and their regional bodies to establish partnerships and institutional arrangements catalysing triangular cooperation (South-South and North-South cooperation) for capacity-building around regional nodes;
(v)Providing, developing and disseminating further as necessary and appropriate, sectoral and cross-sectoral tools and best practice guides on biodiversity and ecosystem services for key stakeholders, including packaging the relevant findings and lessons learned from the implementation of the programmes of work under the Convention as user-friendly and policy-relevant information for addressing the capacity-building needs of various target groups;
(vi)Supporting Parties and regional organizations in fund raising and further engagement of technical assistance for capacity development efforts at the regional and national levels;
(d)Provide an estimation of the financial implications for the implementation of the framework on capacity-building on mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable development and poverty eradication, including a structured funding arrangement of the regional capacity development nodes;
(e)Elaborate and present a prioritized and focused provisional framework for various target groups to be addressed with capacity-building activities.
Annex I
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR AN EXPERT GROUP ON BIODIVERSITY FOR POVERTY ERADICATION AND DEVELOPMENT
1.The Expert Group shall further elucidate the linkages between the three objectives of the Convention and poverty eradication and development processes, drawing upon expertise in both communities (Biodiversity/Development) and to identify the most effective approach towards a framework on capacity development for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable development and poverty eradication, building on existing initiatives and in close cooperation with relevant organizations.
2.The Expert Group shall provide technical input to the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention at its fourth meeting in accordance with the following terms of reference:
(a)Review the analysis to be prepared by the Secretariat;
(b)Identify the root causes of poverty that are possibly linked to biodiversity loss and suggest ways and means by which such causes may be removed or remediated by fulfilling the three objectives of the Convention;
(c)Identify means for up-scaling good practices and lessons learnt and sharing the linkages, between poverty eradication programmes and the three objectives of the Convention for sustainable development at the local, national, regional, subregional and global level;
(d)Provide guidance and priorities for all relevant actors involved in development processes (Governments, sector ministries, implementation agencies and other target groups such as policy-makers, practitioners, scientist, media, education);
(e)Prepare, further draft objectives, goals, elements and activities for the framework on capacity-building to address the remaining gaps, building on the analysis to be carried out by the Secretariat;
(f)Identify the potential role of the Convention for the implementation of the framework on capacity-building on mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable development and poverty eradication;
(g)Ensure that the full range of biodiversity and ecosystem services considerations are taken into account to ensure that the identified approach are responsive to the three objectives of the Convention and its Strategic Plan as well as to all the Millennium Development Goals and the Millennium Declaration.
3.The Expert Group shall be regionally balanced and composed of 25 experts nominated by Parties and 15 observers, inter alia, from both biodiversity and development communities, regional bodies or organizations, bilateral development cooperation agencies, multilateral development banks, United Nation agencies, non-governmental organizations, the business sector, civil society, indigenous and local communities, and other representatives of stakeholders.
4.The Executive Secretary shall recommend the list of selected experts and observers for the approval of the Bureau.
5.Parties shall take into consideration the need for technical expertise in the Expert Group when nominating their experts.
6.The Expert Group shall be established taking into account the need to draw upon the experience of the relevant international organizations, partnership and initiatives.
7.Parties, regional bodies or organizations, bilateral development cooperation agencies, multilateral development banks, United Nation agencies, non-governmental organizations, the business sector, civil society, research institutes, indigenous and local communities, and other stakeholders shall undertake further work, including through studies and submission of views, on the issue as an input for the work of the Expert Group.
8.The Expert Group shall meet as required to complete its task, subject to the availability of financial resources, and also work through correspondence and teleconferences.
Annex II
DRAFT PROVISIONAL FRAMEWORK ON CAPACITY-BUILDING FOR MAINSTREAMING BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION
A.Overall purpose and scope of the provisional framework on capacity building under the Convention on Biological Diversity
1.The overall purpose, to which the framework on capacity-building under the Convention on Biological Diversity will contribute, is to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services considerations into broader development and poverty reduction processes at regional, national and subnational levels, through capacity-building on environmental mainstreaming in developing countries. That will enable conditions for biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of ecosystem services as a fundamental contribution to poverty reduction and development in developing countries.
2.The implementation of the framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity, will also contribute to the achievement of the vision, mission and strategic goals of the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) beyond 2010 and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development including the Millennium Development Goals.
3.The framework focuses on addressing characteristics and problems that are specific to mainstreaming of the Convention's and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements' - objectives into broader development processes in developing countries.
4.Capacity-building services will be provided basically for the following target groups from the national, sub-national and regional level:
(a)Policy-makers from various government sectors and departments;
(b)Practitioners from relevant public, private and business sector, local communities and indigenous organizations;
(c)Scientists and researchers from different disciplines.
5.The framework on capacity-building under the Convention is intended to assist Parties in promoting regional collaboration for capacity-building on mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services with targeted goals, objectives, and actions, with specific actors, timeframes, inputs, and expected measurable outputs. Parties and their regional organizations may select from, adapt, and/or add to, the goals and capacity-building contents suggested in the current framework according to their particular local, national and regional conditions. Implementation of this framework should take into account the ecosystem approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the main approach for building capacities will follow the methods of adaptive management and "learning by doing".
B.Programme elements, goals and capacity-building contents and activities
6.The overall goal of the framework on capacity-building under the Convention is: "policy makers, practitioners and researchers are able to mainstream the Convention on Biological Diversity and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as a fundamental contribution for sustainable development and poverty reduction in their countries and regions."
7.Capacity-building is crucial to enhance the implementation of the Strategic Plan beyond 2010 under the Convention. It requires to work on the science-policy interface, as well as on the policy practice interface, to translate and package emerging scientific knowledge, traditional knowledge, and evidence on best practices and lessons learned into policy and practice-relevant information facilitating informed decision-making and implementation.
8.The achievement of the capacity-building overall goal will lead to the following specific outcomes:
(a)A more holistic and systemic recognition on the fundamental interrelations and interdependences between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being, and on the full range of benefits and ecological limits that the environment offers for development and poverty reduction;
(b)A more effective environmental governance approach including the support to governance structures that help to enable and empower all groups and with special emphasis of indigenous and local communities to participate fully in decisions on resource and ecosystem services usage and expanding effective governance practices - equivalently as described within and in accordance with the programme of work on protected areas - from protected areas to the whole land and seascape;
(c)A more integrative and adaptive environmental planning approach incorporating strategic measures for environmental sustainability into sectoral, spatial, and broader multi and cross sectoral development and poverty reduction policies, programmes and strategies at the regional, national, and decentralized subnational level, in accordance with the mainstreaming guides and provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity for national biodiversity strategies and action plans;
(d)A more effective environmental finance management system based on national and external finance sources and investments in biodiversity and ecosystem services through public, market based, and community-based mechanisms in accordance with the Strategy for Resource Mobilization and the programme of work on incentive measures of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
(e)A more effective transfer, adaptation and generation of environmental technologies and innovations aiming at solutions for sustainable management of biodiversity in practice in accordance with the programme of work on technology transfer, technological and scientific cooperation and its implementation strategy.
Programme element 1: Capacity-building on (inter-)dependence between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being:
Goal 1.1:Policy-makers, practitioners and researchers undertake a full scoping exercise, exploring fundamental interrelations between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being and recognizing its implications for their own tasks.
That includes capacity-building contents 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 exploring answers to the following questions:
1.1.1What are the inter-linkages and dependence of socio-economic processes from ecosystem goods and services? How could these affect economic growth, poverty reduction, resilience and vulnerability to natural disasters?
1.1.2Does biodiversity conservation improve under conditions where ecosystems are managed to deliver a suite of ecosystem services sustainably over time? Under what management or policy conditions?
1.1.3Which ecosystem services are especially required for the mitigation of and adaptation to global environmental change (e.g., regulating services such as cooling, maintenance of hydroclimatic processes, flood protection)? What are the characteristics of the ecosystems that provide these kinds of ecosystem services, and what is the probable degree of ecosystem integrity required for the conservation of these services?
1.1.4How can ecosystems contribute to new forms of income? What are the primary ecosystem goods and services that a country needs to use and maintain, especially in terms of self sufficiency and taking into account their ecological footprint? What are the costs and risks of not protecting them?
1.1.5What are the main ecosystem goods and services that are both important to society and to economic development? Are economic activities depleting ecosystems beyond their resilience and hence beyond ecosystems renewal capacity? How can the usage of ecosystems goods and services be optimized in terms of sustainable "socio-economic development and in accordance with the principles of ecological economics? What kind of perspectives exist for sustainable development without any growth of resource and energy flow?
1.1.6What tools and mechanisms exist to valuate and manage ecosystems services for socio economic development and human well-being?
1.1.7How can access to ecosystems goods and services be balanced to ensure sustainable livelihoods of poor and vulnerable communities and reducing their vulnerability against global (environmental) change impacts?
1.1.8What are the potential win-win situations and trade-offs that can be put in practice between poor and vulnerable communities and development sectors? What vital ecosystem services need to be protected and equitably shared to secure the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable communities?
1.1.9What tools and mechanisms exist to involve poor and vulnerable communities in decision making processes and policy development?
Goal 1.2:Policy makers, practitioners and researchers explore, share and communicate scientific and traditional knowledge and best practices on environmental governance and recognize its implications to improve the performance of their own tasks
That includes capacity-building contents 1.2.1 to 1.2.5:
1.2.1To develop strategies, appropriate governance structures, multi-stakeholder platforms and legal frameworks in accordance with national priorities and legislation to involve all concerned stakeholders for protected areas and the broader land and seascape: in fair and transparent negotiations of desired outcomes, paying attention to power imbalances and aiming to level the playing field by supporting less powerful groups to participate meaningfully; clarifying at the outset the limits of synergies and the possible trade-offs, as well as non-negotiable issues to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services within and outside protected areas;
1.2.2To negotiate acceptable win-win outcomes and/or trade-offs between biodiversity conservation, maintenance of ecosystem services, development and poverty reduction;
1.2.3To communicate possible synergies and trade-offs in a transparent way to all stakeholders involved to lead to informed decisions;
1.2.4To identify compensation mechanisms where trade-offs are necessary being aware that opportunity costs could vary and increase over time, especially in protected areas, as well as, in community and indigenous conserved areas (ICCAs);
1.2.5To identify instruments and develop strategies to maintain social equity and peace including, if appropriate, conflict management and crisis prevention.
Goal 1.3:Policy-makers, practitioners and researcher explore, share and communicate scientific and traditional knowledge and best practices on environmental planning and management and recognize the implications for better performance of their own tasks
That includes capacity-building contents 1.3.1 to 1.3.4:
1.3.1To elaborate, implement, and monitor environmental strategies and action plans (e.g., national biodiversity strategies and action plans, equivalent instruments and others related to multilateral instruments) relevant to development and poverty reduction, in partnership with the so called "development community" and to adopt national biodiversity strategies and action plans with a focus on capacity-building on mainstreaming among the different levels of the target audiences and stakeholder;
1.3.2To integrate those environmental plans and strategies, including the national biodiversity strategies and action plans, into sectoral, spatial, decentralized and cross-sectoral or broader over-arching planning processes such as Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSPs), national, subnational, and regional sustainable development plans and strategies;
1.3.3To implement and monitor those environmental components integrated in broader development plans, programmes and policies, including their financial provisions and respective budgeting processes;
1.3.4To replicate and scale up best practices and lessons learned through appropriate policies, plans and programmes, keeping vertical and horizontal coherence through inter-sectoral coordination and appropriate bottom-up and top-down approaches between regional, national, subnational policies and local implementation.
Goal 1.4:Policy-makers, practitioners and researchers explore, share and communicate scientific and traditional knowledge and best practices on environmental finance management and recognize its implications to improve the performance of their own tasks.
The development of capacities of target groups (with emphasis on representatives from finance and economic ministries and departments) to identify and factor the wide range of financial and economic opportunities linked to biodiversity and ecosystem services building adequate environmental finance architectures in developing countries will include capacity-building contents 1.4.1 to 1.4.9:
1.4.1To explore and identify multiple sources of revenue generated by the environmental sector at the national level (taxes, charges, payments or compensation schemes, benefits for ecosystem services, tourism etc.);
1.4.2To explore potential revenue opportunities from international sources (international Overseas Development Assistance, international taxes, external private sector investments to reduce environmental foot print, international payments for ecosystem services, such as REDD+ and other carbon trade arrangements) through existing mechanisms, including general budget support (GBS), basket funding for sector wide or programme-based approaches, and the CBD LifeWeb initiative clearing-house as a means to strengthen financing from a diversity of sources, consistent with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness;
1.4.3To elaborate a viable finance strategy for biodiversity and ecosystem services based on national and international finance mobilization;
1.4.4To explore options and advantages of investments in ecosystem function or services (environmental infrastructure), that reduce costs (e.g., catchment restoration to restore water quality instead of industrial water treatment facilities);
1.4.5To explore other still not yet recognized benefits and hidden values of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services (indirect socio-economic benefits linked to healthy ecosystems, supporting and regulating ecosystem services);
1.4.6To explore opportunities to remove perverse incentives and reallocation of budget-lines in the context of financial policies aiming at sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
1.4.7To identify adequate ways and means for environmental fiscal reforms and payment for ecosystem services schemes at the national, subnational, and local level in accordance with national priorities, policies and legeslation;
1.4.8To reflect and monitor investments in biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, ecosystem restoration, and ecosystem services strategically within long and mid-term expenditure frameworks (MTEF) and public environmental expenditure management and reviews (PEEM and PEER), with the use of existing clearing house mechanisms including the CBD LifeWeb Initiative; and
1.4.9To identify opportunities for additional external co-finance arrangements with diversified external sources (Overseas Development Assistance, the Global Environment Facility, general budget support, basket funding, etc).
Goal 1.5:Policy-makers, practitioners and researchers explore, share and communicate scientific and traditional knowledge and good practices on environmental technologies and innovations, and recognize its implications to improve the performance of their own tasks.
Policy solutions can fail due to technological constraints on the ground. Locally adapted innovations are often a particular result of combining traditional and local knowledge with modern science. That includes capacity-building contents 1.5.1 to 1.5.3:
1.5.1To explore environmental technology in a broader economic context, recognizing its role for the performance of economic sectors in achieving better socio-economic outcomes like job creation, income generation, better safety nets, health care systems, education, etc.;
1.5.2To explore how to produce with more resource efficiency, more sustainably within ecological limits and planetary boundaries;
1.5.3To analyse specific supply chains, business and micro-entrepreneurs services, certification schemes, local arrangements for payment for ecosystem services, bio-trade arrangements and other negotiation patterns among stakeholders involved (from providers to end-consumers), as a contribution to fair trade, equitable benefit-sharing and poverty reduction in accordance with the agreements made within the World Trade Organization and avoiding trade-related disadvantages for developing countries.
Programme element 2: Organization of capacity-building services, networking and knowledge management though South-South and North-South cooperation around regional nodes
Goal 2.1:Partnerships between providers of capacity-building services, research institutes, and centres of excellence are organized around regional nodes and provide support according to their expertise.
The capacity-building programme will organize its intervention mainly at the regional level with interested regional organizations serving their member States and grouping developing countries that experience significant challenges in managing their ecosystems at trans-boundary level and in the context of poverty reduction. The programme will expand its geographic and thematic coverage based on collaborative partnerships and available resources. That includes activities 2.1.1 to 2.1.6:
2.1.1Regional organizations 4 facilitate relations between providers and users of capacity-building services from the national, regional and global level;
2.1.2Regional organizations facilitate the establishment of a regional multi-stakeholder platform for research, knowledge management and capacity-building on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
2.1.3Regional organizations facilitate formal and informal South-South and North-South cooperation on research, exchange of experiences, and capacity-building;
2.1.4Regional organizations facilitate the elaboration of proposals for fund-raising;
2.1.5Parties and their regional organizations maintain the capacity-building process closely coordinated and synchronized with the implementation process of the multi-year-plan of south-south cooperation on biodiversity for development;
2.1.6Parties and their regional organizations promote synergies between the various multilateral environmental agreements and avoid unnecessary duplications among the different capacity-building and research initiatives.
Goal 2.2:Regional clearing house mechanism on biodiversity and ecosystem services for development and poverty reduction are developed
Activities are in accordance with the existing provisions of the Conference of the Parties for the clearing-house mechanism and include activities 2.2.1 to 2.2.7:
2.2.1Parties, their regional organizations and regional centres of excellence establish or further develop regional and national clearing-house mechanisms with user-friendly and comprehensive web portals and addressing capacity-building needs of regional and national target groups in accordance with national criteria of access to information:;
2.2.2Scientists, researchers and practitioners within the regions explore to what extent biodiversity is a determinant for the maintenance of ecosystem services and ecosystem resilience, in particular identifying the conditions under which biodiversity conservation may result from mechanisms of payments or compensation for ecosystem services;
2.2.3Scientists, researchers and practitioners within the regions develop more trans disciplinary, systemic and holistic approaches on knowledge generation and paradigms for informed decision making aiming at sustainability within development and poverty reduction policies, programmes and strategies;
2.2.4Regional organization compile information from the region on implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other multilateral agreements, and analyse progress made towards capacity-building and effective mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services into broader development and poverty reduction processes at the national and regional level;
2.2.5Parties and their regional organizations regularly gather and share information on the characteristics and problems that are specific to mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services at the regional, national and sub-national level;
2.2.6Parties collect, review, evaluate and share, in collaboration with other relevant conventions and organizations and through the clearing-house mechanism and other means, existing information about the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services for development and poverty reduction;
2.2.7Parties and their regional organization use the clearing-house mechanism for multiple purposes in the context of South-South and North-South cooperation, such as financing, (e.g. CBD LifeWeb Initiative for financing protected areas), research, technology transfer and adaptation, online training, reporting and monitoring and case-study database, among others.
Goal 2.3:Appropriate means and measures are taken to improve national and regional communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) strategies on biodiversity and ecosystem services for human well-being
Activities are in accordance with the programme of work for communication, education and public awareness (CEPA), and in particular, in harmony with the short list of priority activities, as outlined in decision VIII/6 and reaffirmed in decision IX/32:
2.3.1Parties and their regional organizations establish an implementation structure or process around regional nodes for integrating communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) into capacity-building and policy-making, and use the structure to assess the state of knowledge and awareness on biodiversity and communication capacity;
2.3.2Parties and their regional organizations develop a media relations strategy, including the creation of key messages regarding the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in supporting human well-being, the ecosystem approach and its application, and the successes in mainstreaming and implementing the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
2.3.3Parties and their regional organizations develop tools and processes for capacity development for CEPA including toolkits and workshops. The workshops should not only be stand-alone activities for CEPA, but also modules that can be integrated into capacity-building for mainstreaming other activities and instruments, such as national biodiversity strategies and action plans, national reports and other activities related to implementation of the Convention;
2.3.4Parties and their regional organizations work with a variety of actors to mainstream biodiversity into education and learning processes, including formal, non-formal and informal contexts and the relevant actors for each of these. Wherever possible, the products and curricula should be linked to the activities of the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development.
3
The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention notes that the convening of an expert group has financial implications and is therefore subject to a decision by the Conference of the Parties.
4
Regional organizations could include among others, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Arab League, the Arab Maghreb Union, the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN), the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Central American Parliament, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the small island developing States (SIDS), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), etc.