22 May 2012: The latest edition of “Event Spotlight,” released by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), focuses on progress made on island issues at the 16th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 16). The newsletter includes articles on a meeting with the new CBD Executive Secretary, and an Island Summit planning meeting.

The newsletter notes that during SBSTTA 16, which took place from 30 April to 5 May 2012, in Montreal, Canada, GLISPA’s co-chairs met with CBD Executive Secretary Braulio Dias and discussed the importance of focusing on implementation, particularly through partnerships. Dias indicated to GLISPA that there is a need to demonstrate the financing gap faced by countries, to increase availability of regional and global funds for biodiversity, to explore the interlinkages with the UN Convention on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) process, and to promote mainstreaming.

In addition, GLISPA convened an Island Summit Planning Meeting on the sidelines of SBSTTA 16, on 3 May 2012, providing Parties and partners with the opportunity to discuss the Island Summit planned for the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the CBD. According to GLISPA, the meeting agreed priority outcomes for the Island Summit, and the concept note is being updated to reflect the meeting’s contributions. [Publication: GLISPA Event Spotlight]