Convention on Biological Diversity to discuss island biodiversity,

 

2010 target, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

 

SBSTTA Meets in Bangkok, Thailand, 7 to 11 February

(Reissued as received.)

MONTREAL, 31 January (Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat) -- The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity will hold its tenth meeting from 7 to 11 February 2005 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, with generous support from the Government of Thailand.  The agenda items to be discussed by representatives of 187 governments and the European Community include the following:

-- The finalization of a draft programme of work for island biological diversity for consideration and adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting, in 2008.  Island biodiversity is anew thematic area under the Convention and involves a variety of cross-cutting issues of particular importance to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

-- An evaluation of the strategies and state of progress made towards achieving the 2010 biodiversity target, to realize a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010.

-- The draft reports of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, including the draft synthesis report on the status of Biological Diversity.

-- The meeting will also consider a number of other thematic and cross-cutting issues, including:  incentive measures, agricultural biodiversity, Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTS), the Global Taxonomy Initiative, and climate change and biodiversity.

The meeting will be immediately followed by the third meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing, also to be held at the UNCC Conference Centre.

Documents for SBSTTA, including press accreditation forms can be found at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=SBSTTA-10.

For more information, please contact David Ainsworth, Acting Information Officer at tel.:  +1 514 287-7025 or by e-mail:  david.ainsworth@biodiv.org.

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