9 September 2014: In preparation for the High-level Segment of the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the CBD Secretariat has circulated the draft text of the ‘Gangwon Declaration on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development’ prepared by the Government of the Republic of Korea, for Parties’ comments.

The COP Bureau requested that Parties be given further opportunity to provide comments on the text, with a view to facilitating its adoption.

The draft Declaration highlights the role of biodiversity in sustainable development and calls on Parties to integrate implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets with implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda.

The High-level Segment of CBD COP 12 will be held from 15-16 October 2014. [CBD Notification, including Draft Declaration][Webpage of CBD COP 12 and CBD Protocols’ Meetings]