18 October 2013: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has issued a notification containing a compilation of pertinent resolutions and associated tools developed under the biodiversity-related conventions, to be used by CBD parties in the process of revising and updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).

The compilation was prepared on the basis of a decision by the liaison group of the biodiversity-related conventions, which convened from 2-3 September 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The biodiversity-related conventions include, in addition to the CBD: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS); the UNESCO World Heritage Convention; the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR); and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

In the documents prepared for the upcoming GEF Council meeting, the GEF Secretariat highlights that it helped to organize, in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, the meeting of the Liaison Group of the Biodiversity-Related Conventions (BLG), with the Swiss Government providing financial and logistical support to the meeting. The meeting “focused on the relationship between members of the BLG and the GEF, including how to facilitate access to GEF funding by harnessing synergies among BLG members.” [CBD Notification][CBD COP Guidance on NBSAPs][GEF summary of the BLG meeting]