The Eastern Europe regional workshop examined the national and regional implications of the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and the Nagoya Protocol on ABS.
The workshop was held back-to-back with the Eastern Europe Expanded Constituency Workshop of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and included national focal points to both the GEF and the CBD.
28 March 2011: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has organized a workshop for the Eastern European region on the national and regional implications of the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS). The workshop took place on 25 March 2011, in Kiev, Ukraine.
The workshop was held back-to-back with the Eastern Europe Expanded Constituency Workshop of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and included national focal points to both the GEF and the CBD.
On the occasion, CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf highlighted developments aimed at facilitating the early entry into force and implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, including establishment of a dedicated Trust Fund by the GEF, and establishment of the Japan Biodiversity Fund, which seeks to assist eligible countries to translate the Strategic Plan targets into national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).
Participants in the workshop advocated that countries with economies in transition should continue to be eligible, as a group, for financial support from the CBD financial mechanism. They emphasized the need for effective administration of existing and new protected areas, as called for in the Strategic Plan, and shared their experiences in mobilizing support for implementation of the Convention. They noted the general lack of experience and knowledge on innovative financial mechanisms and emphasized that the comparative advantages of Governments and the Convention lie in the provision of policy, administrative, regulatory and legislative services, not in replacing the role of the private sector and non-governmental organizations in developing and advancing the market-based or market-oriented innovative financial mechanisms. Greater consideration, therefore, should be given to the creation of enabling policy conditions, regulations for appropriate market order, and the provision of necessary safeguards, so as to ensure that innovative financial mechanisms will serve and advance the CBD’s objectives. [Meeting documents] [CBD Executive Secretary Statement] [CBD Communiqué]