5 August 2013: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) seeks contributions from members of civil society and indigenous and local community organizations for the eighth issue of the CBD newsletter for civil society, titled ‘[square brackets],’ which is scheduled for publication in October 2013.

Produced jointly by the CBD Secretariat and the CBD Alliance, a network of civil society organizations, the newsletter aims to facilitate timely dialogue on cutting edge biodiversity issues from both policy (advocacy and decision-making) and practical (implementation) perspectives. The new edition of [square brackets] will be published to coincide with the eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) (7-11 October 2013, Montreal, Canada) and the seventeenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) (14-18 October 2013, Montreal, Canada). Articles are sought to address issues to be discussed by the Working Group on Article 8(j) and SBSTTA, including, among others: customary sustainable use; repatriation of information and traditional knowledge for cultural restoration; the connection of traditional knowledge systems and science; adequacy of policy support tools and methodologies developed or used under the Convention; adequacy of observations and of data systems for achieving the Aichi biodiversity targets; and scientific and technical assessments of the effectiveness of the Convention’s implementation. Submissions are due by 6 September 2013. [CBD Announcement]