Meio Ambiente

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity / United Nations Environment Programme

With Governments and their partners actively engaged in finalizing the new biodiversity vision for 2050 and the 2020 biodiversity targets, which will include the international protocol on access and benefit sharing, senior officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity organized a one-day brainstorming session. Discussions at the retreat focused on the enhanced partnership between the two organizations for supporting Parties in 2011-2012 to implement the expected compact to be adopted at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention by some 10,000 participants.

At the retreat, held in Montreal on 19 July with the participation of 12 UNDP senior officials, headed by Ms. Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of the UNDP Environment and Energy Group, participants agreed on a two year action plan for the implementation of COP 10 decisions, to be signed in Nagoya.

The action plan revolves around the following areas of strategic issues: the Convention's programme on biodiversity for development; implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Convention; the programme of work on protected areas; future work on climate change and biodiversity; the Satoyama Initiative of Japan; outreach to cities; and the proposed United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011 2020.

Ms. Vandeweerd said: "Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources are integral parts of national and global efforts to reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We need to work through the Convention on Biological Diversity and harness the momentum of the International Year of Biodiversity to refocus global attention on biodiversity loss as an economic and human development issue. Biodiversity loss, climate change, and poverty are intertwined global crises that must be tackled synergistically. This is a critical time to align priorities and identify needed actions to safeguard life on this planet, including for the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations. UNDP is pleased to be working closely with the Convention Secretariat at this critical juncture to undertake strategic planning for post-Nagoya initiatives." 

Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention, said: "Since its inception, the UNDP has been the United Nations agency for technical assistance. It has emerged as the lead United Nations agency for technical assistance for sustainable development, which cannot be achieved without the full implementation of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Not only has the UNDP contribution to the promotion of the International Year of Biodiversity been unique and remarkable, the post-Nagoya contribution of the UNDP also promises to be unique and remarkable."

In May 2008, at the margins of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, in Bonn, Germany, UNDP and the Secretariat of the Convention signed their first memorandum of understanding, upon which existing collaboration has grown. Agreeing to cooperate on issues related to biodiversity for development and outreach, a senior UNDP staff member was seconded to the Convention Secretariat in Montreal for one year to act as a liaison officer. The UNDP celebrated the launch of International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) in New York in February.  There are now over 69 UNDP offices that have been engaged in celebrating the IYB at national and local levels.