Alien species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species
(Article8(h)): further consideration of gaps and inconsistencies in the
international regulatory framework
The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice recommends
that the Conference of the Parties, at its eighth meeting:
1. Welcomes of the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Gaps
and Inconsistencies in the International Regulatory Framework in Relation to
Invasive Alien Species (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/4), expresses its gratitude
to the Government of New Zealand for their financial, organizational and
technical support for this work, and expresses its gratitude to the
Chair and members of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group for their work;
2. Welcomes the inter-sessional work of the Global Invasive Species
Programme and the Executive Secretary towards the development of a joint
programme of work on invasive alien species referred to in paragraph 26(e) of
decision VI/23*, and expresses
appreciation to the Global Invasive Species Program for its leadership
role in addressing invasive alien species;
3. Welcomes the development of the biodiversity and invasive alien
species module of the United Nations Environment Programme's project on
Issue-Based Modules for Coherent Implementation of Biodiversity-related
Conventions, as a helpful tool for implementation;
4. Recognizes that building capacity for action at the national level is
often the most important factor for addressing the various pathways for
introduction and spread of invasive alien species, and invites funding
institutions and development agencies to explore and consider options for
providing additional funding to support developing countries, in particular the
least developed countries and small island developing States among them,
countries with economies in transition, and countries that are centers of
origin and centers of genetic diversity, to assist in the improved prevention,
rapid response and implementation of management measures to address threats of
invasive alien species;
5. Notes that, in addition to capacity-building at national level, there
is also a need for capacity-building at subregional, regional and global
levels;
6. Consider the need for the provision of additional funding by the
financial mechanism of the Convention to support capacity-building for
developing countries, in particular the least developed and small island
developing states among them, and countries with economies in transition, to
prevent or minimize the risks of the dispersal and establishment of invasive
alien species at the national, sub-regional, or regional levels;
7. Further recognizes that collaboration among international
bodies and instruments is important in the context of addressing issues related
to invasive alien species, and that such collaboration requires adequate
resources;
8. Encourages Parties to ensure close inter-agency collaboration at the
national and regional levels among the various sectors relevant to the
introduction, control and management of invasive alien species, for example
through the establishment of national coordination committees;
9. Notes that actions to address invasive alien species need to be taken
at the international, regional, national and/or subnational levels, emphasizes
the need to promote consistency among actions and efforts at the various
levels, also emphasizes the appropriateness of regional and sub-regional
approaches in particular, and encourages the development, as
appropriate, of regional guidance under appropriate regional bodies or
institutions to address particular gaps in the international regulatory
framework;
10. Reiterates the importance of information-sharing as specified, for
example, in paragraphs27 and 28 of decision VI/23, and the need for financial
resources to take full advantage of such information-sharing mechanisms
including the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention;
11. Further reiterates the call to Parties, other Governments and
relevant organizations to share their experiences in addressing invasive alien
species, including management and control efforts as specified in paragraph 25
of decision VI/23, and the request to the Executive Secretary to make this
information available through the clearing-house mechanism, as called for in
paragraphs 25, 26, and 28 of decision VI/23;
12. Urges Parties and other Governments to notify potential importing
countries of relevant information about particular species that are subject to
export and may be potentially invasive, through, for example, alert lists or
other appropriate information-sharing mechanisms, and to take other proactive
measures as appropriate to prevent or minimize effects of invasive alien
species in other countries, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention;
13.
Requests the Executive Secretary to consult with relevant
international bodies and instruments, such as the International Plant
Protection Convention, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Trade
Organization,, taking into account the observations of the report of the Ad Hoc
Technical Expert Group, regarding whether and how to address the lack of
international standards covering invasive alien species, in particular animals,
that are not pests of plants under the International Plant Protection
Convention, and to report on the results of these consultations for
consideration by SBSTTA and by the Conference of the Parties at its ninth
meeting;
14. Requests the Executive Secretary to communicate this recommendation
to the UNFCCC secretariat to facilitate its being taken into account, as
appropriate, by Parties to the UNFCCC in framing and implementing the decisions
of the UNFCCC;
15. Invites Parties and other Governments to share, through the
clearing-house mechanism and other means, national experiences in dealing with
invasive alien species, in particular animals, introduced or spread through
various conveyances (e.g., vessels, floating timber, equipment and machinery,
household goods, packaging and containers, waste materials, etc.), including
any risk assessments that have been carried out for particular species or
pathways;
16. Encourages Parties and other Governments to conduct training and
promote education and awareness raising of border control officials and other
relevant persons regarding invasive alien species, recognizing that such
activities will require adequate resources;
17. Encourages relevant regional bodies and institutions to develop
regional guidance for particular conveyances as pathways for introduction and
spread of invasive alien species;
18. Invites relevant bodies and institutions, such as the Working Group
on Pathways of the Global Invasive Species Programme and the Working Group on
Ballast and Other Shipping Vectors of the International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea, to further study conveyance pathways for introduction
and spread of invasive alien species, and to conduct risk assessments for
potential future introductions;
19. Encourages regional bodies and conventions governing inland water or
marine and coastal ecosystems, such as transboundary inland water management
bodies and the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, to consider
developing cooperative arrangements and/or voluntary certification schemes for
aquaculture to address invasive alien species, taking into account existing
efforts such as those of the Global Aquaculture Alliance;
20. Urges Parties and other Governments to implement the ICES Code of
Practice on the Introduction and Transfers of Marine Organisms, the FAO Code of
Conduct on Responsible Fisheries, and Article 196 of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea;
21. Urges Parties and other Governments to ratify and implement the 1997
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of
International Watercourses;
22. Urges Parties and other Governments to ratify and implement the
International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water
and Sediments as soon as possible;
23. Urges Parties and other Governments to address, in their national
legislation, the issue of domestic translocation of ballast water, by vessels
requiring equivalent compliance with but not covered by the International
Convention on the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments,
as stipulated in the guideline for Equivalent Compliance for Small Craft which
is under consideration by the Marine Environmental Protection Committee of the
International Maritime Organization;
24. Urges Parties and other Governments to increase the degree of
communication and coordination between national agencies responsible for inputs
to and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and
International Maritime Organization;
25. Invites the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans to support
implementation of the International Convention on the Control and Management of
Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, and to encourage regional harmonization in
implementation;
26. Encourages Parties and other Governments to implement controls at
national level, for example through appropriate measures (e.g., regulations and
standards), on marine biofouling as a pathway for introduction and spread of
invasive alien species, including for recreational vessels;
27. Encourages harmonization of national legislation within regions, to
avoid transferring risks associated with marine biofouling between nations,
including through regional mechanisms such as the regional seas conventions and
action plans;
28. Reiterates its call to the International Maritime Organization
regarding the need to address the issue of hull-fouling;
29. Encourages Parties and other Governments to raise the issue of marine
biofouling as a matter of urgency with the Marine Environment Protection
Committee of the International Maritime Organization and at the Antarctic
Treaty Consultative Meeting;
30. Invites the United Nations informal consultative process on oceans
and the law of the sea to recognize the serious threat posed by marine
biofouling (including small vessels) and the limited mandate of the
International Maritime Organization to address the full scope of the issue, and
to recommend to the General Assembly of the United Nations a mechanism for
addressing this issue;
31. Welcomes resolution A35-19 of the Assembly of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) on invasive alien species, and invites the
International Civil Aviation Organization to address invasive alien species as
a matter of urgency;
32. Requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with the secretariat
of the International Civil Aviation Organization, as appropriate, to support
any efforts to develop guidance or standards according to resolution A35-19;
33. Encourages the secretariat of the International Civil Aviation
Organization, in addressing the issue of invasive alien species, to coordinate
with other relevant bodies, including the secretariats of the Convention on
Biological Diversity and the International Plant Protection Convention;
34. Encourages Parties and other Governments to promote collaboration at
the national level among relevant agencies responsible for matters of invasive
alien species and/or civil air transport (e.g., civil aviation, transport,
customs, trade, plant protection, environment) so that all relevant issues are
raised through national participation in the International Civil Aviation
Organization;
35. Encourages relevant United Nations bodies, in collaboration with the
Convention on Biological Diversity and relevant organizations, to develop and
promulgate guidance or codes of practice to address the issue of introduction
and spread of invasive alien species associated with military operations or aid
including peacekeeping operations;
36. Encourages Parties and other Governments to ensure that they promote
good practice in relation to invasive alien species in any military-aid or
joint exercises, and to develop procedures within their military forces to
avoid the introduction of potentially invasive species into new areas, taking
into account relevant international guidance, and to detect and rectify any
problems of invasive alien species created during military operations;
37. Encourages relevant international bodies and organizations to develop
international codes of practice for preventing and minimizing potential spread
of invasive alien species on equipment, supplies and vehicles associated with
emergency relief, aid and response efforts, and to develop procedures for
ensuring that assessments to determine aid requirements include identification
of any issues of invasive alien species;
38. Encourages the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme and other relevant bodies to
develop codes of practice or guidelines such as the IUCN Guidelines for
Restoration of Tsunami-Affected Areas for dealing with cases where invasive
alien species are dispersed following a natural disaster or event;
39. Urges Governments and other donors to take measures to prevent and
minimize the introduction and spread of invasive alien species as part of their
emergency relief, aid and response efforts, and to take into account any
relevant codes of practice or guidelines that may be developed at international
level, or national legislation as appropriate, in their national aid operations
or in the operations of non-governmental organizations within their country;
40. Encourages United Nations bodies and other organizations involved in
international development assistance, in cooperation with the Convention on
Biological Diversity and other relevant bodies or agreements, to develop or
adopt existing procedures or codes of practice to minimize the risks associated
with the use, dispersal or establishment of invasive alien species, taking into
account relevant national codes of practice or other guidance;
41. Urges Parties and other Governments to consider, through
collaboration with biosecurity, biodiversity and aid organizations, national
controls or codes of practice to address invasive alien species in development
assistance efforts;
42. Urges Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to raise
awareness among scientific research organizations of existing measures to
control the spread of invasive alien species, and to put in place, where
appropriate, measures to prevent or minimize the risks of introduction and
spread of invasive alien species associated with scientific research
activities;
43. Encourages relevant international and regional organizations,
including the Future Harvest (CGIAR) centres, Botanic Gardens Conservation
International and the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations,
as well as professional societies, to develop codes of practice for preventing
and minimizing the risk of introduction and spread of invasive alien species
associated with scientific research activities, recognizing the need to avoid
duplication of efforts, and encourages the Global Invasive Species
Programme to review and make available existing information in this regard;
44. Requests the Executive Secretary, in consultation with relevant
bodies and organizations, to identify existing guidelines on scientific
research that address invasive alien species, and to disseminate them through
the clearing-house mechanism;
45. Emphasizes the need for taxonomic studies to deal with invasive alien
species, and encourages implementation of the planned activity on
invasive alien species within the programme of work of the Global Taxonomy
Initiative;
46. Decides to consider, as appropriate, in its future work relating to
sustainable tourism, the issue of tourism as a pathway for introduction and
spread of invasive alien species;
47. Urges Parties and other Governments, and regional bodies where
appropriate, to take measures to address the issue of tourism as a pathway for
introduction and spread of invasive alien species, taking into account the
Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development adopted in decision VII/14,
with particular emphasis on tourism in sites of high conservation value;
48. Encourages the World Tourism Organization, the International Air
Transport Association, and other relevant international organizations to
promote education and public awareness, for example through development of
codes of practice, regarding the role of tourism as a pathway for introduction
and spread of invasive alien species;
49. Encourages relevant Government departments, consumer protection
groups, industry, trade and shipment organizations, and other relevant
organizations such as the Universal Postal Union and the Global Express
Association, to raise awareness with consumers, including through internet
sites that facilitate transactions or may otherwise be visited by consumers,
and to consider development of guidance or codes of practice regarding trade in
pets, aquarium species and plant seeds, in particular disposal and discard of
such species;
50. Urges Parties and other Governments to take measures, as appropriate
and consistent with their national and international obligations, to control
import or export of pets, aquarium species, live bait, live food or plant seeds
that pose risks as invasive alien species;
51. Further urges Parties and other Governments to take actions, as
appropriate and consistent with their national and international obligations,
to prevent and minimize introductions of known invasive species into the wild,
including through measures addressing disposal and discard of such species;
52. Urges Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to
evaluate and take appropriate measures (e.g., develop guidance or codes of
practice regarding the trade and use of biocontrol agents) at national,
regional and global levels to address the potential risks of biocontrol agents
as invasive alien species, taking into account the work of relevant
international bodies and agreements such as the International Plant Protection
Convention, as well as the experience of countries at national level;
53. Encourages the animal breeding industry, as well as regional and
international organizations such as IUCN and the World Association of Zoos and
Aquariums, to promote sharing of best practices regarding the movement of alien
animal species for ex situ breeding;
54. Urges Parties and other Governments to take measures as appropriate
and consistent with their national and international obligations, based for
example on risk assessment, to control movements of animals used for ex situ
breeding, including controlling the movements of fish between water bodies and
drainage basins as well as containing the movements of animals within safari
parks and zoos;
55. Encourages relevant regional and international organizations and
bodies to require impact assessments to ensure consideration of invasive alien
species issues within water transfer schemes and navigation canal projects, and
to develop technical advice on methods to prevent or minimize the introduction
or spread of invasive alien species through canals and pipes;
56. Urges Parties and other Governments, as a matter of priority, to
implement activity 1.4.4 of the revised programme of work on inland waters
(decision VII/4, annex), ("Within the context of transboundary catchments,
watershed and river-basin management, and especially in relation to inter-basin
water transfers, provide appropriate mechanisms to prevent the spread of
invasive alien species");
57. Encourages Parties, other Governments, and regional bodies to develop
procedures and/or controls to ensure that cross-border impacts of potentially
invasive alien species are considered as part of national and regional
decision-making processes;
58. Urges Parties and other Governments to share information on domestic
occurrences of alien species that may be invasive elsewhere, through
appropriate information-sharing mechanisms;
59. Urges Parties and other Governments to be proactive in preventing the
introduction and spread of invasive alien species within their territories, for
example by offering to help neighbouring States to deal with particular alien
species that may cross borders;
60. Encourages Parties to take into account, as appropriate, the issue of
invasive alien species with respect to World Heritage sites or other such
sites;
61. Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant international
bodies to ensure that relevant laws and provisions, such as those related to
conservation, do not inadvertently constrain the use of appropriate measures to
address invasive alien species;
62. Encourages Parties and other Governments to raise the issue of
invasive alien species at the meetings of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative
Meeting, and to support the development of measures to address threats of
invasive alien species in the Antarctic Treaty area;
63. Encourages relevant bodies and organizations to promote clarification
and common understanding of terminology related to invasive alien species, for
example through the development of interpretive guidance or through
collaborative workshops involving multiple sectors;
64. Encourages Parties and other Governments to facilitate common
understanding of terminology through collaboration and communication among
relevant agencies, and through appropriate design of training and operational
materials;
65. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with relevant
organizations, to compile a glossary of terms used in various forums in
relation to invasive alien species, as requested in paragraph28(b) of decision
VI/23, and to make that list available through the clearing-house mechanism;
66. Further requests the Executive Secretary to include the issue of
terminology in joint work plans with other secretariats;
[67. Notes the reference, in the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on
Gaps and Inconsistencies in the International Regulatory Framework in Relation
to Invasive Alien Species (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/4), to the outstanding
procedural [and substantive] issues related to decision VI/23*;]
68. Requests the Executive Secretary, in preparation for the in-depth
review of ongoing work on invasive alien species which will take place at the
ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (as specified in decision VII/31
on the multi-year programme of work), and in accordance with the recommendation
of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the
Convention to consolidate the decisions on invasive alien species prior to the
ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to review implementation of all
decisions related to invasive alien species, in particular decisions VII/13,
VI/23 and V/8, and the decision on invasive alien species that may be adopted
at the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and to report on this
review to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and technological Advice
prior to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
* One representative entered a
formal objection during the process leading to the adoption of this decision
and underlined that he did not believe that the Conference of the Parties could
legitimately adopt a motion or a text with a formal objection in place. A few
representatives expressed reservations regarding the procedure leading to the
adoption of this decision (see UNEP/CBD/COP/6/20, paras. 294-324).
