23 July 2008: In a 23 July 2008 Notification, the
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is inviting parties
and relevant organizations to provide information on the status and trends of,
and threats to, mountain biological diversity, and progress made in the
implementation of the Programme of Work on Mountain Biological Diversity for
consideration by the fourteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technical and Technological Advice, tentatively scheduled to be held in
May/June 2010 in Bonn, Germany.

In
the matrix annexed to the notification, which interested parties are encouraged
to use to provide feedback, two specific goals relate to climate change. The
first is the goal to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats
to mountain biological diversity, including: adverse land-use practices; global
climate change; deforestation; inappropriate reforestation or afforestation;
human-induced forest fires; retreat of glaciers; and local and long-range air pollution.
One of the proposed indicative questions for the implementation review of this
goal concerns the existence of mechanisms to monitor the impact of climate
change and retreat of glaciers. The second goal relates to improving knowledge
on, and methods for the assessment and monitoring of, the status and trends of
mountain biological diversity. In this regard, the Secretariat has request
interested parties to address measures taken to assess and address impacts of
climate change, local and long-range pollution, changing land-use management
practices, and tourism. [The notification]