cbd alliance

The first couple days of the WGRI were a bit crazy, but here are the two ECOs we produced there. (see sidebar, link on WGRI). Sorry for the delay.

Next up, ABS -   5 in Montreal.

Civil Society statement on
WGRI-2 Agenda Item 3 Status of NBSAPs
09.07.07

Thank you Mr Chairman,

I would like to make this intervention on behalf of the Forest Peoples Programme, Birdlife International and Ecoropa, supported by other civil society groups present at this meeting.  

We welcome the documents prepared by the Secretariat as they provide a good overview on the aspects of implementation of the Convention on the agenda for this meeting. To us, one of the most significant outcomes of the analysis of submissions from CBD Contracting Parties, as reflected in the documents, is that a majority of them have identified the lack of progress in achieving effective participation as a key obstacle to national implementation.

In many countries there has been very little space for participation of civil society organizations and indigenous and local communities in the development, implementation, monitoring and down-to-earth realistic evaluation of NBSAPs, national reports and the overall implementation of the CBD at the national level. In these regards, we fully agree with the statement made by the indigenous representative.

We believe that without mobilizing all the potential national capacities from all the relevant rightsholders and stakeholders, it is impossible to make sustained progress at implementing such a comprehensive and complex framework as the CBD. Sustainable political will can only be produced by the citizens of a given country. Our civil society effective engagement therefore becomes essential for overcoming one of the main obstacles to implementation.

We agree with the many countries that have addressed the need for updating of NBSAPs by including Ecosystem Approach criteria, the 2010 Target, inclusion of all the 3 CBD objectives, and cross-sectoral mainstreaming. We commit ourselves to contribute to the “empowerment” of other relevant ministries regarding biodiversity knowledge.

We welcome the suggested recommendations in the documents UNEP/CBD/WGRI/2/2/Add1 and 2/3. Given that participation is cross-cutting to all the other recommendations, we agree to, and support, the Kiribati’s proposed changes concerning re-numbering Recommendations No. 2 and 3 in document 2/2/Add1.  

We would like to add to the existing paragraph 3 (then to become para 2), in the second line, after ‘implementing’ the following words: ‘monitoring, evaluating and adapting’.  

Lastly, in case the summary of document 2/2 is taken as a basis for recommendations, we would like the Working Group to spell out, under paragraph (g), to whom these communication programmes are to be addressed and by whom they are to be run. The development of this activity certainly should include civil society organizations and indigenous and local communities.

Thank you.

Dear all,

The agrofuel recommendations just passed, some of the good:Agrofuels is on the agenda for COP 9. The SBSTTA asks the secretariat to identify "options for consideration of this emerging issue in the programmes of work of the Convention, including the programme of work on ag. biodiv and the POW on forests" (my sum), that will then be considered by COP 9. We have lots of work ahead of us there.

However, the message that should have come out and should have come out, based on the scientific evidence about the negative impacts of agrofuels, was blocked by Brazil (along with China, Malaysia, Argentina, Mexico).

Lots of analysis of the SBSTTA 12 inside, currently taking place in Paris, France at UNESCO.