17 June 2011: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has created a webpage to facilitate the peer review of draft documents prepared for consideration by the 15th meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 15), scheduled to be held from 7-11 November 2011, in Montreal, Canada.

The documents will be posted as soon as they are finalized. The deadline for submission of comments is 14 July 2011 for documents on: ecosystem restoration (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/4); draft capacity-building strategy for the Global Taxonomy Initiative (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/5); invasive alien species (IAS) (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/6); implications of changes in the water cycle (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/8); assessment of inland water biodiversity needs in coastal areas (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/9); assessment of implementation of the River Basin Initiative (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/10); and ways and means to improve SBSTTA effectiveness (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/15).

The deadline for submission of comments is 19 July 2011 for documents on: updated technical rationales, suggested milestones and indicators for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/2); report on gaps and inconsistencies in the international regulatory framework in invasive alien species (IAS) (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/7); review of information on maintaining the ability of biodiversity to continue to support the water cycle (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/11); small-scale food and income alternatives in tropical and sub-tropical countries and revised recommendations of the Liaison Group on Bushmeat (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/12); sustainable use of biodiversity in a landscape perspective (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/13); and Arctic biodiversity (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/15/14). [CBD Notification][SBSTTA 15 Document Peer Review Webpage]