The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and 27 international agencies, organizations and environmental conventions have created a task force through which agencies will coordinate their activities to achieve and implement the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, during the UN Decade on Biodiversity.
21 September 2011: A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and 27 international agencies, organizations and environmental conventions, aiming to achieve and implement the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
The signing ceremony took place at the margins of the high-level event on desertification of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. The MoC creates a task force to provide a platform for agencies to coordinate their activities in support of implementation of the Strategic Plan and its targets at global and national levels during the UN Decade on Biodiversity.
Signatories are UN agencies, financing organizations, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and NGOs, including: the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Bioversity International, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Alliance for Zero Extinction, BirdLife International, Conservation International, Rare, The Nature Conservancy, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, WWF International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The first meeting of the task force will convene in October 2012, in Hyderabad, India, in conjunction with the high-level segment of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the CBD. [CBD Press Release] [UNESCO Press Release] [GEF Press Release]