Find the most recent news related to the United Nations- Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) and close organizations!  

  1.  Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Biosafety Protocol edges closer to entering into force : October 13th 2017
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. The Nagoya-Kuala Supplementary Protocol to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress relating to living modified organisms. The Supplementary Protocol will enter into force on the ninetieth day after the deposit of the fortieth instrument of ratification, accession, acceptance or approval. Democratic Republic of the Congo becomes 39th country Party to the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress. Click here for more information. Information on how to become a Party to the Supplementary Protocol is available on the IPBES website.  A list of Parties to the Supplementary Protocol can be accessed here.
  1.   IPBES Call for inputs for Global Sustainable Development Report
*Deadline November 30th The Global Sustainable Development Report-GSDR is a quadrennial publication overtaken by IPBES ,adopted on 2015 due a decission by UN at Rio +20 to strengthen the science-policy interface and work to provide strong evidence-based support to policymakers in promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development. The next edition will be release on 2019 and for the first time, the report is being drafted by an independent group of scientists supported by a UN team. As part of this coordinated work, the expert  team  is calling for inputs to the GSDR from the widest-possible group of scientific and non-scientific communities – another powerful echo of the IPBES conceptual framework and approach. To contribute to the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2019, fill out the form here.
  1.     Introduction to Resilience for Development – Free online course!
* REQUIRES REGISTRATION A free, online course has been developed: Introduction to Resilience for Development. The Nature Conservancy is hosting the 2 part course, and it is available on their Conservation Training Website, in English, French and Spanish. The course is targeted at policymakers and practitioners working in the sustainable development and conservation planning sectors, but anyone is welcome! This would be a great opportunity to become familiar with mainstream concepts and integrated approaches to tackle some of these conservation issues. The Aichi Biodiversity Targets (specifically #15) will be discussed as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. PART 2: January 23rd to February 13th Part 1 will cover key concepts about understanding resilience, while Part 2 will use resilience thinking to implement action plans to enhance protected management strategies. See the CBD website for more information regarding the course. If you are interested in this great opportunity, register here.
  1.     World Food Day: October 16th, 2017
With concerns about global food shortages, World Food Day reminds us that we need to invest in our ecosystems, soils, and landscapes to ensure a healthy and productive future. As the climate changes, more and more people are having to leave their homes and traditional lands due to unproductive sites, land scarcity, lack of jobs, and inequality. The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer writes: “With climate change comes more frequent and more extreme weather events. Thus it is critical that we build more resilient agricultural landscapes and food systems. We can achieve this through sustainable ecological intensification of agriculture, including reducing our reliance on agrochemicals for increasing and improving yields, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment by integrating the ecosystem services delivered by biodiversity into agricultural production systems.” The theme for this year’s World Food Day was “Change the future of migration: Invest in food security and rural development”. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is focused on understanding the migration patterns of people to address the capacity limitations that countries around the world are struggling with. See FAO’s World Food Day website for more information, and get a recap of the World Food Day Ceremony in Rome.       5.    IPBES Call for nomination Multidisciplinary Expert Panel *Deadline: December 4th The mandate of all members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel will come to an end at the close of the 6th session of the Plenary, on 24 March 2018. Some important quotes to have in mind for the nomination:
  1. the importance of a strong scientific expertise of the nominees in biodiversity and ecosystem services;
  2. the necessity to pay attention to a good balance between social and natural sciences on the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, as well as to gender balance;
  3. the necessity for members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel to commit at least 20% of their time, and quite a bit more at times, which translates to roughly 10 weeks a year, with significant international travel;
  4. the importance for candidates from developed countries to ensure that resources are available to support their participation in two MEP meetings per year, and several other IPBES meetings.
For more information about the nomination here. Nominations should be made by filling out the online form and upload curricula vitae.     6.    IPBES NEWS: October 20th, 2017 Communication efforts have already begun to promote the five IPBES assessments that are due to be approved and launched at the sixth session of the IPBES Plenary (#IPBES6), in Colombia next March. You can access the assessments in different languages here to know more about IPBES.
  1.  CBD Notification 2017-109 – Composition of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources :October 20th, 2017
Based on the nominations received and in consultation with the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice, experts were selected to participate in the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group, taking into account relevant expertise and with due regard to regional and gender balance.  I am pleased to attach the list of selected experts. With the generous financial support of the Government of Canada and the European Union, a meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group will be convened in Montreal from 13 to 16 February 2018. The text of this notification is also available on the CBD website.]]>