. Cooperation with other bodies

Cooperation with other bodies

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technical Advice,

Noting with appreciation the ongoing cooperation with many other agreements and institutions, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat and the International Programme for Biodiversity Science (DIVERSITAS),

1. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, to explore with the Interim Steering Committee of the Millennium Assessment and other relevant conventions and organizations, ways and means of collaborating in undertaking the proposed Millennium Assessment of Global Ecosystems, and to inform the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting on the outcome of these discussions;

2. Takes note of the prospective Global Biodiversity Information Facility, recognizes that the Facility must ensure the scientific integrity of its work, encourages its development in conformity with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and invites the Facility to include as many countries as possible in its development and implementation;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, to identify with the Facility's Interim Steering Committee arrangements for cooperation between the Convention and the Facility, and mechanisms to involve countries that are not currently participating in the elaboration and implementation of the Global Diversity Information Facility project, and to inform the Conference of the Parties at its next meeting on the outcome of these discussions;

4. Recommends that the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting:

(a) Takes note of ongoing cooperation activities;

(b) Invites the Executive Secretary to strengthen cooperation, particularly in the area of scientific and technical assessment of biodiversity, bearing in mind the importance of biodiversity assessments in identifying emerging issues and reviewing the programmes of work and the impact of measures taken under the Convention;

(c) Takes note of the proposed Millennium Assessment of Global Ecosystems, taking into account and making use of the Global Biodiversity Assessment, and decides on follow-up action based on the outcome of the consultations of the Executive Secretary with the Interim Steering Committee of the Millenium Assessment;

(d) Invites the Executive Secretary to strengthen the cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including its Kyoto Protocol, on issues relevant to forest biological diversity and coral reefs;

(e)Takes note of the International Biodiversity Observation Year of DIVERSITAS, to take place from 2001 to 2002, and requests the Executive Secretary to find ways and means of collaborating with this inititative and ensure complementarity with the initiative foreseen to be undertaken by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to increase scientific knowledge and public awareness of the crucial role of biodiversity for sustainable development;

(f) Welcomes and endorses the second joint work plan (2000-2001) between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and commends it as a useful example of future cooperation between the Convention on Biological Diversity and other environmental conventions;

(g) Notes that the second joint work plan between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands includes a range of cooperative actions in relation to several ecosystem themes and cross-cutting issues of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as proposing actions to harmonize institutional processes, and requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and the Executive Secretary to take these actions fully into consideration in furthering the respective programmes of work for these areas.