Latin American and Caribbean Group

Working Group Co-Chairs Francis Ogwal and Basile van Havre gaveling the meeting to an end. The second meeting of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (WG) resumed for the final day on Saturday to address pending issues, including negotiations on the zero draft of the global biodiversity framework (GBF). Delegates heard a report back from the contact group on Tools and Solutions for Implementation and Mainstreaming, and agreed on elements presented in the group’s report compiled by the co-leads. The WG thereafter reviewed and approved the final recommendations of the meeting with minor amendments, and adopted the meeting’s report.During the closing session, Elizabeth Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said while all roads led to Rome for the second meeting of the WG, the journey to generate a clear, actionable, and transformative GBF continues.  Providing regional statements: The African Group, noting the increased level of ambition based on new elements included into the GBF, called for additional funds for implementation; The EU said the GBF should be realistic and ambitious enough to communicate and engage everyone in the desired transformative change; The Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) said the desire to conserve biodiversity is clearly reflected in the GBF’s ambitions, but cautioned that financial resources have always been the “Achilles heal of the CBD”; New Zealand, on behalf of a group of non-EU developed countries, emphasized the need to involve indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), women, youth, subnational and local governments, and the private sector in order to provide a roadmap for transformative actions; and Central and Eastern Europe noted the importance of measurable indicators and called for sharing of outcomes of upcoming consultative meetings. As weary delegates arrived in plenary on the last day of the meeting of the WG, words of praise and thanks were abundant for the hard work and constructive participation of co-chairs, co-leads, the secretariat, delegates, and participants. The lengthy report from the contact group on Tools and Solutions for Implementation and Mainstreaming, showcased the extensive discussions held during the last meeting of the contact group, which lasted untill midnight on Friday. The late session induced some delegates to blame minor confusions with respect to the report of the contact group on a “lack of sleep” and excitement to “wrap up the meeting.” As the time for closing statements rolled around, delegates continued to praise the tone and collaborative spirit of the meeting, yet highlighted the extensive amount of work yet to be done. Elizabeth Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, CBD highlighted that “time is not on our side,” especially in light of the great number of requests made in Rome. Yet, she expressed confidence that the WG will succeed and deliver a robust and ambitious GBF in Kunming to reverse biodiversity loss, end the cycle of destruction, and ensure that future generations will not have to face a planet irreversibly damaged by human activity.Co-Chairs Basile Van Havre and Francis Ogwal, gaveled the meeting to a close at 5:44 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage. Α summary and analysis report from the 2nd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Elizabeth Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, CBD Secretariat Naoki Nakayama, Japan Andrea Cruz-Angón, Mexico Martha Mphatso Kalemba, Malawi Sujit Kumar Bajpayee, India Reinhard Schnidrig, Switzerland Jorge Murillo, Colombia Tia Stevens, Australia Jane Stratford, UK From L-R: Evelyn Vera Barreto, Mexico; Ines Verleye, Belgium; and Gabriele Obermayr, Austria Aleksandr Proskurin, Russian Federation Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, CBD Secretariat Charlotta Sörqvist, Sweden Delegates from the EU conferring during a break in negotiations Yangzhao Sun, China View of the dais during the plenary Working Group Co-Chair Francis Ogwal Working Group Co-Chair Basile van Havre Charlotta Sörqvist, Sweden, conferring with the Secretariat Leonardo Cleaver de Athayde, Brazil Joaquín Salzberg, Argentina The Costa Rican delegation (with Francisco the Sloth) Guilherme da Costa, Guinea-Bissau Alfred Oteng Yeboah, Ghana Christine Samwaroo, Guyana Rosemary Paterson, New Zealand Rapporteur Lyna Al-Awathi, Kuwait Neville Ash, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)  

Delegates huddle informally in plenary. On Thursday, the Council of the International Seabed Authority convened for the third day of the first part of its 26th session (ISA-26) in Kingston, Jamaica. Delegates discussed issues relating to the election of members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC), adopting a decision to work intersessionally on a resolution of the issue, for a final decision on the LTC elections to be taken at the second part of ISA-26. They also engaged in informal consultations on the working method to address the draft exploitation regulations, facilitated by Kenneth Wong (Canada), agreeing to consider a decision on this matter on Friday, 21 February.Delegates also considered a draft decision on a standardized approach for the development, approval, and review of regional environmental management plans (REMPs) in the Area, agreeing to finalize the decision on the last day of the meeting.Thursday was a procedure-heavy day, with delegates working in informal groups and discussing sticking points in huddles around the conference center. Highlights of the day included: the conclusion of informal discussions related to the working method to address the draft exploitation regulations; the circulation of a draft decision related to REMPs; agreement on the way forward on issues related to the election of members of the LTC; an informal plenary session on draft exploitation regulations related to the protection and preservation of the marine environment. At lunch, a side event was organized by the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative addressing the importance of biological diversity to deep seabed mining management.For more details on the day’s events and to learn what delegates said in the breezeways, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the 1st Part of ISA-26. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has publish a summary and analysis report in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Kathy-Ann Brown, Jamaica, Acting Council President for ISA-26, consults with Urs Daniel Engels, Germany (left), and Tom Diederen, the Netherlands (right). Members of GRULAC and the African Group meet informally. Delegates from Italy, France, and Norway discuss draft decision documents on the election of members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC). L-R: ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge, and Andrew Cong and Nicole Lyas, Australia L-R: Fredrik Hansen, Holy See; Tomasz Abramowski, Interoceanmetal Joint Organization; and Mateusz Damrat, Poland L-R: Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, ISA Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General, and Juan José González Mijares and Anais Vivanco, Mexico L-R: Gina Guillén Grillo, Costa Rica, and Ingo Narberhaus and Hans-Peter Damian, Germany L-R: Tom Diederen, the Netherlands; Urs Daniel Engels, Germany; and Jihyun Lee, ISA Secretariat Deryck Murray, Trinidad and Tobago, and Diva Amon, Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) Vladislav Kurbatskiy, Russian Federation, and Nicole Schabus, ENB Delegates go through draft Council decision documents relating to the election of the LTC members. L-R: Juan José González Mijares, Mexico; Gina Guillén Grillo, Costa Rica; and Carlos Alberto Michaelsen den Hartog, Brazil Jihyun Lee, ISA Secretariat, and ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge L-R: Andrew Cong, Australia; Rena Lee, Singapore; Nicole Lyas, Australia; and Kenneth Wong, Canada L-R: Corey McLachlan, DeepGreen; Philomène Verlaan, IMMS; and Erika Ilves, DeepGreen Council delegates during the afternoon session Solomon Korbieh, Ghana, speaking for the African Group Andrew Friedman, The Pew Charitable Trusts Hasan Abdullah Towhid, Bangladesh Coy Roache, Jamaica Philomène Verlaan, International Marine Minerals Society (IMMS) Kent Bressie and Graham Evans, International Cable Protection Committee Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, ISA Legal Counsel and Deputy to the Secretary-General, and ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge Duo Jiang and Jiang Jun, China, read the latest ENB. L-R: Jihyun Lee, ISA Secretariat, and Seongwook Park, SunHwa Kim, Young Gyu Lee, Seoyeon Cho, and Yeon Jee Suh, Republic of Korea L-R: Luke Tang, Rong Wang, and Rena Lee, Singapore; ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge; and Nathaniel Khng, Charine Yong, and Aaron Lee, Singapore Around the Venue Statue of Noel Nethersole, former Minister of Finance of Jamaica, with the ISA headquarters in the background.