When: 11 August 2021, 14:00 to 16:00 (Colombo, Sri Lanka time)
Background
In preparation for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15), the CBD Secretariat convened the twenty-fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-24) and the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-3) in virtual mode during May-June 2021. The outcomes of these meetings have informed the development of the first draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) for the period 2021-2030.
It is expected that these outcomes and draft GBF will form the basis of the third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OWG 3), as well as in-person meetings of SBSTTA 24 and SBI 3 before the Parties to the CBD, meet at COP 15, to be held in China in 2022.
In order to support the Parties in the preparation for these negotiations, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) are co-convening a regional briefing session for countries in South Asia. The briefing is being supported under UNEP’s project entitled, “African, Caribbean and the Pacific Multilateral Environmental Agreements Programme III (ACP-MEAs III)”, funded by the European Union (EU).
The specific objectives of the briefing session include the following:
- Provide an overview of the outcomes of SBSTTA-24 and SBI-3 meetings;
- Enhance the understanding of elements of the first draft GBF;
- Strengthen a regional network of CBD, SBSTTA and SBI focal points in preparation for 3rd OWG meeting on GBF; and
- Promote better regional preparations for the forthcoming CBD COP 15, with inputs from Parties and other stakeholders, as needed.
UNEP has been supporting the national focal points and other stakeholders in the regions for the past decade in such actions and sees this as an opportunity to seek the participation of diverse stakeholders in these events and support enhanced understanding of issues to help informed participation in key Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) governing body meetings.
The agenda is structured in a manner that provides a comprehensive overview of issues that will be addressed during the meetings and will only complement national preparatory actions, as the Parties see appropriate.
