Biodiversity and climate change
1. Welcomes the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/11 and UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/12) and commends it to the Conference of the Parties as scientific advice provided in response to paragraphs 11 and 18 of decision V/4, as a basis for future work;
2. Congratulates the co-chairs and all the members of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group, and other contributors on the preparation of a report that is technically sound and of high quality;
3. Expresses its appreciation to
the Government of Finland for its financial support for this work, and for hosting two of the meetings of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group;
4. Welcomes the involvement of climate-change experts in the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group;
5. Expresses its appreciation for
the
attention given to the work of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice on this topic by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at its fifteenth and sixteenth sessions, and its encouragement of the involvement of climate-change experts;
6. Welcomes the Technical Paper on Climate Change and Biodiversity, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as an important component of the wider assessment of the interlinkages between biological diversity and climate change, and express gratitude to the authors of the paper, the Intergovernmental Panel, and its bureau and secretariat for this contribution;
7. Takes notes of the reports of the workshops organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in cooperation with other members of the Joint Liaison Group on Synergies among multilateral conventions and agreements (FCCC/SB/2003/1);
8. Notes that:
(a) There are opportunities to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in ways that are mutually beneficial and synergistic, and that contribute simultaneously to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and other international agreements, all within broader national development objectives;
(b) The ecosystem approach provides a framework for the integrated management of land, water and living resources and that its application can facilitate the formulation of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects that also contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, thereby contributing to the implementation of the "WEHAB" initiative and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development;
(c) There are research needs and information gaps arising from the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group;
(d) The primary motivation for cooperation is to promote synergies at the national and local levels, where conventions are implemented. Efforts to promote synergies should be designed in accordance with national circumstances and priorities with a view to achieving sustainable development;
9. Requests the Executive Secretary and the Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to contact, respectively, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Chair of the the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice, with a view of bringing the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group to the attention of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at its nineteenth session, in December 2003, in order that it may consider its contents;
10. Recommends that the Conference of the Parties:
(a) Invite Parties, other Governments, international organizations and other bodies to make use of the report on climate change and biodiversity prepared by the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group in order to promote synergy between climate change mitigation and adaptation activities and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
(b) Invite the national focal points for the Convention on Biological Diversity to bring the report to the attention of their counterpart focal points for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and for other relevant agreements, in order to promote synergy at national level;
(c) Facilitate building capacity related to accessing information and tools, and for enhancing coordination at national level to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation projects deliver environmental and social benefits and are consistent with national priorities;
(d) Call for case-studies on interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change following a common format to be developed by the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
(e) Invite Parties, Governments, funding agencies, research bodies and other organizations to address the gaps identified in the Report in order to help to optimize biodiversity conservation and sustainable use within climate change adaptation projects, as well as mitigation projects addressing the adverse effects of human activities over the long term at the national, regional, and global levels;
(f) Ensure that the results of the report are incorporated into the ongoing work of the Convention on Biological Diversity, whenever appropriate, and in particular, on forest biodiversity, marine and coastal biodiversity, mountain biodiversity, inland water biodiversity, biodiversity of dry and sub-humid lands, agricultural biodiversity, indicators, impact assessment, and incentive measures, without implying obligations on Parties additional to those under the Convention on Biological Diversity;
(g) Request the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, as the next stage of its work on the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change to develop, for the consideration of the Conference of the Parties, advice or guidance for promoting synergy among activities to address climate change, including mitigation and adaptation, activities to combat desertification and land degradation, and activities for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
(h) Invite the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to collaborate with the Convention on Biological Diversity, including through the joint liaison group as appropriate, in the development of advice or guidance to Parties in implementing activities that are mutually supportive of the objectives of the three conventions;
(i) Invite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to continue its work on the relationship between climate change and biodiversity including the detection and attribution to climate change of observed biodiversity losses, taking into account the target adopted by Decision VI/26 to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels;
(j) Examine the need for support through the financial mechanism and other sources to developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and small island developing States among them, and countries with economies in transition, where appropriate, for:
(i) Country-driven activities aimed at linking mitigation and adaptation projects to global climate change; in particular, projects related to ecosystem conservation, restoration of degraded lands and marine environmentsand overall ecosystem integrity;
(ii) Assistance in capacity-building with the aim of increasing the effectiveness in addressing environmental issues through their commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification;
(iii) Assistance in developing synergy-oriented programmes to conserve and sustainably manage all ecosystems, such as forests ,wetlands and marine environments, and contribute to poverty eradication;
(k) Request the Executive Secretary to:
(i) Transmit the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and through the Secretariat to its bodies, and also to the secretariats of the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Ramsar Convention, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Convention on Migratory Species, the United Nations Development Programme, the Global Environment Facility, and the United Nations Forum on Forests, the World Heritage Convention and the Man and the Biosphere programme of UNESCO, as well as relevant organizations and bodies including, inter alia, other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, IUCN, and the World Wide Fund for Nature;
(i)
(ii) In preparation for the next stage of the work on climate change and biodiversity by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, gather in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and other relevant organizations, relevant material for promoting synergy between climate change mitigation and adaptation activities and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, drawing upon:
a.
Case-studies, contributed by Parties and others, illustrating the potential of biodiversity both to mitigate and adapt to global climate change, and lessons from these experiences, including lessons learned from extreme climate events;
b. Existing relevant tools, approaches and processes for designing projects, and evaluating their economic, environmental and social implications, related to mitigating or adapting to climate change within the broader context of sustainable development.
