. Programme of work

Programme of work

A. Progress in the work programmes on thematic areas

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice,

1. Notes with appreciation the progress made in implementing the programmes of work on marine and coastal biological diversity, agricultural biological diversity and the biological diversity of inland water ecosystems, as described in the note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/4/3);

2. Notes that limited progress has been made on the implementation of the programme of work on forest biological diversity, as contained in decision IV/7 of the Conference of the Parties, on forest biological diversity;

3. Notes that limited progress has been made in the development and implementation of indicators, as called for in decisions III/10 and IV/1 A of the Conference of the Parties;

4. Urges the Executive Secretary to promote the implementation of the programme of work on forest biological diversity in accordance with decision IV/7, and report to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its fifth meeting on progress made, as well as actions required for its future development;

5. Notes with appreciation the contribution of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to the thematic work programmes and welcomes the results of the Workshop on Sustaining Agricultural Biodiversity and Agro-Ecosystem Functions, held in Rome from 2 to 4 December 1998, and of the Workshop on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators in Agriculture, with an Emphasis on Bees, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in October 1998;

6. Agrees that physical degradation and destruction of coral reefs also pose a significant threat to the biological diversity of these ecosystems and therefore recommends that the Conference of the Parties expand its request to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, as contained in paragraph 1 of its decision IV/5, so as to include the effects of such activities in addition to the analysis of coral bleaching and urges the Executive Secretary to make rapid progress on the issue of coral bleaching;

7. Recommends that education and public awareness, referred to in Article 13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, be included in the discussions on the work programmes on thematic areas;

8. Recommends to the Executive Secretary that, in preparing reports of progress in programmes of work for the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its fifth meeting, special emphasis be given to identify limitations and propose measures to improve their implementation.

B. Cooperation with other bodies

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice

1. Agrees that the experience of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Assessment Panels under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer provide useful lessons for the operation of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice,

2. Invites the Executive Secretary, in the light of decision IV/16 of the Conference of the Parties on, inter alia, the terms of reference for the ad hoc technical expert groups and the programme of work of the Subsidiary Body, to prepare for the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties a detailed proposal that seeks to address the issues of peer review and scientific assessments for the Convention on Biological Diversity, drawing on the experience of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;

3. Invites the Executive Secretary, within the proposal referred to in paragraph 2 of the present recommendation, to consider:

(a) How any mechanism would relate to rosters of experts, the ad hoc technical expert groups and the liaison groups;

(b) The relationship between any proposed assessment and existing assessments of relevance;

(c) Developing guidelines on the responsibilities and selection of lead authors, contributors and expert reviewers, as well as procedures for the approval of a variety of types of reports, which draw upon the contributions and experts of Parties;

(d) Using existing facilities, for example, technology centres, universities and relevant organizations and processes;

(e) Ensuring access to appropriately qualified individuals suitable for producing reports that can be used by the Subsidiary Body;

(f) Making a commitment to invest time and resources in the maintenance, continuation and advancement of the assessment;

(g) Seeking support by government authorities and institutions for personnel involved in assessment;

4. Welcomes the results of the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands and accepts the invitation of the Conference of the Parties to that Convention to designate the Chair of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice as a permanent observer on the Scientific and Technical Review Panel of the Convention on Wetlands;

5. Welcomes also the forthcoming reviews of the joint work plan by the Scientific and Technical Review Panel and the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands and agrees to consider their proposals at its next meeting;

6. Acknowledges the usefulness of the notification systems used by the Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;

7. Invites the Executive Secretary to enhance communication with Parties by introducing a notification system for the Convention on Biological Diversity with respect to documents received, selection of experts for technical panels and liaison groups and the peer-review processes initiated by the Executive Secretary, and to make such information available through the clearing-house mechanism save to the extent that an expert objects to the release of information concerning him/her;

8. Recommends increased cooperation on scientific, technical and technological advice between the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant international conventions/agreements important for achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and, to that aim, also recommends that the Conference of the Parties consider the development of the modalities for more direct types of cooperation between the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and parallel bodies under these conventions/agreements;

9. Invites the Executive Secretary to enhance cooperation with scientific, technical and technological organizations and to consider modalities to promote such cooperation.

C. Proposal on draft programme of work for the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice,

Recalling decision IV/16 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its fourth meeting,

Having considered its programme of work based on the priorities set out in annex II to decision IV/16, with a view to streamlining and focusing the agendas of its future meetings,

1. Proposes to the Conference of the Parties that it adopt the longer-term programme of work of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, as contained in the annex to the present recommendation, and recommends the preparation of a strategic plan to guide its implementation;

2. Recommends that a consideration of the interests of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles be included in the consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of each of the topics described in the programme of work contained in the annex to the present decision;

3. Decides to apply the programme provisionally for the period between its present meeting and the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

4. Notes that the inter-sessional meeting on the operations of the Convention, to be held in Montreal from 25 to 30 June 1999, will consider important institutional issues with respect to the execution of this programme of work and therefore decides to reconsider the programme at its fifth meeting, if necessary;

5. Invites the Executive Secretary to further develop a uniform methodology for the use of rosters of experts, and agrees to consider proposals in this regard at its fifth meeting;

6. Acknowledges with appreciation the case-studies submitted in response to previous decisions of the Conference of the Parties, and considers that most of these case-studies contain important information for many aspects of the work of the bodies of the Convention;

7. Invites the Executive Secretary to develop a common framework for case-studies, taking into account the information contained in the national reports submitted by Parties pursuant to Article 26 of the Convention on Biological Diversity;

8. Recommends to the Conference of the Parties that the Executive Secretary make available all case-studies, through, inter alia, the clearing-house mechanism, so that the Convention bodies can draw upon the information contained therein as appropriate;

9. Recommends to the Conference of the Parties to request the respective mechanisms under the Convention that are dealing with access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing, as well as Article 8(j) to advise the Conference of the Parties on what scientific, technical and technological aspects are important for the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to deal with;

10. Recognizes the need to better consider micro-organisms and genetic diversity in the different elements of longer-term programme of work of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice;

11. Recognizes the need to enhance inter-sessional and collaborative initiatives to allow the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to better implement the programme of work proposed in the annex to the present recommendation;

12. Recognizes the need to start considering the development of assessments of the status and trends of biological diversity, as called for in Article 25, paragraph 2 (a), of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Annex

PROGRAMME AREAS TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE FROM THE FOURTH TO THE SEVENTH MEETINGS OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (1998-2004)

SBSTTA MEETING	THEMATIC AREA*	MAIN CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES	OTHER ISSUES
Fourth - June 1999	[Main] Biological diversity of dryland, Mediterranean, arid, semi-arid, grassland and savannah ecosystems	Sustainable use, including tourism Alien species Emerging issue: consequences of new technology for the control of plant gene expression	Cooperation Global Taxonomy Initiative Biodiversity impact assessment
Fifth - Jan. 2000	[Main] Programme of work for dryland, Mediterranean, arid, semi-arid, grassland and savannah ecosystems Assessment of activities and priorities for programme of work on agricultural biological diversity	Sustainable use of biological diversity: sectoral activities for adoption of biodiversity-friendly practices and technologies Development of indicators of biological diversity	Cooperation Ecosystem approach: further elaboration Ad hoc technical expert groups: terms of reference Guidelines for the second National Reports (including indicators and incentive measures) Analysis of coral bleaching Review of phase I of the clearing-house mechanism and advice Alien species: guiding principles for the prevention, introduction and mitigation of impacts Progress report on the programme of work on forest biological diversity Review of the Global Taxonomy Initiative
Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (May 2000)
Sixth - late 2000 or early 2001	[Main]Biological diversity of forest ecosystems	Report on the integration of the issue of alien species in thematic work programmes	Cooperation Guidelines for the incorporation of biological-diversity-related issues in impact assessments Ecosystem approach and forest biological diversity
Seventh - 2001	[Main] Biological diversity of forest ecosystems	Guidelines to minimize or mitigate negative impacts of invasive species Programme of work on forest biological diversity, including traditional forest-related knowledge and benefit-sharing	Identification and monitoring, including indicators Linkages between in situ and ex situ conservation
Sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (May 2002)
Eighth - 2002	[Main] Biological diversity of mountain ecosystems Review of workplan on inland water biological diversity	Protected areas Transfer of technology and technology cooperation	Cooperation Sustainable use and role of the private sector and incentive measures, with a focus on thematic areas considered in the session
			In situ conservation: best practices and technologies, including linkages with ex situ conservation
Ninth - early 2003	[Main] Programme of work on mountain ecosystems Review of workplan on inland water biological diversity	Guidelines for technology transfer and cooperation Public education and awareness	Cooperation Ecosystem approach for mountain areas and inland water ecosystems Identification and monitoring
Seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (May 2004)