Notification 2020-022

Dear Madam/Sir, As you will recall, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and WWF International (WWF) in support of common action for awareness and Aichi Target 1, was signed in 2016, supporting focused efforts and solidified collaboration towards a common vision that by “2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably”. It is my pleasure to call upon your collective efforts to support action for awareness. Governments and organizations are invited to commemorate Earth Hour 2020, on Saturday, 28 March 2020, at 8.30 p.m. local time. During this “Super Year for Biodiversity”, we can all use this opportunity to unite and build a movement for nature, to generate and galvanize attention and put nature and biodiversity at the top of public, corporate and political agendas. With this in mind, please find below some suggestions on ways to provide support to this movement, as applicable and appropriate: 1. Pass this e-mail to colleagues in the communication unit(s) of your ministries so they can begin to plan for Earth Hour. 2. Turn off the lights in your building at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday, 28 March 2020 3. Organize an event - for example, a "lights out" of a known landmark in your town. You can add your event to the Earth Hour’s public event directory accessible at Earthhour.org (https://www.earthhour.org/organise-an-event). 4. Join the Earth Hour social channels and share posts with your social communities (e.g. Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/earthhourofficial/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/earthhour/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/earthhour), Giphy (https://giphy.com/earthhour)). 5. Use the open-source assets to create and promote your own messages. The open-source materials have been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany with funding from the International Climate Initiative. You can access the kits on connect2earth.org (https://connect2earth.org/earth-hour-2020/) and use them as appropriate. 6. Direct people to the Voice for the Planet petition http://earthhour.org/voice. The petition represents a visual demonstration of the global demand for action and will be presented to world leaders in 2020. Voice for the Planet is a no-logo platform that is open to anyone that shares a common vision for our planet. Ask your audiences and network to add their voice! Should you require further information regarding Earth Hour, please contact ehnetwork@earthhour.org. For any other queries, please contact Mr. David Ainsworth, Information Officer at the CBD Secretariat by e-mail at david.ainsworth@cbd.int. Further information on the Earth Hour 2020: Raise your Voice for Nature is available here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TBhZb6XnX0D4m6ejwm37XFlVfRhqqVpx/view). Thank you for your cooperation and for your continued support for the work of the Convention and its Protocols. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Acting Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities and relevant organizations