24 May 2011: The third expert meeting on South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development was held in Incheon City, Republic of Korea, from 18-20 May 2011, co-hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the National Institute on Biological Resources (NIBR).

The meeting aimed to further develop the Multi-Year Plan of Action on South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development, a multi-year plan of action submitted by the Group of 77 (G77) and China as a modality for the implementation of the CBD’s Strategic Plan and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which was welcomed by the 10th meeting of CBD Conference of the Parties (COP 10). It also aimed to further discuss the CBD’s road map towards the possible adoption of the Plan at COP 11, to be held in 2012.

In this regard, specific issues addressed in the meeting included: modalities for implementation, including coordination of activities, financing, collaborative partnerships with international organizations, UN bodies, donors, NGOs, centres of excellence, and scientific and technical cooperation; capacity building programmes and centres of excellence; and cooperation and informal exchange.

Minister Lee Manee, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, announced that his Government would contribute “up to US$250,000” to the trust fund to be established under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on South-South cooperation on biodiversity for development.

A joint meeting of experts and members of the CBD’s Consortium of Scientific Partners was convened during the workshop to enhance the scientific community’s support in the Plan of Action’s development and implementation. [CBD Press Release] [Meeting Documents] [CBD Roadmap on South-South Cooperation]