17 October 2012: The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.

The MOU identifies priorities areas for cooperation to support Pacific island countries (PICs) in addressing biodiversity loss. Specific areas of cooperation between the two organizations include the convening of the 9th Pacific Island Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas, scheduled to convene in Fiji, in November 2013.

The MOU was signed on the sidelines to the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the CBD, in Hyderabad, India. [SPREP Press Release]