ENB @ COP-7; 9-20 February 2004; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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SUMMARY

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7th CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (COP-7)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 9-20 February 2004

Daily Web Coverage	\|Mon 9\|	\|Tue 10\|	\|Wed 11\|	\|Thu 12\|	\|Fri 13\|
	\|Mon 16\|	\|Tue 17\|	\|Wed 18\|	\|Thu 19\|	\|Fri 20\|

Highlights for Thursday 19 February 2004

COP-7 delegates met in morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Working Group I (WG-I) continued discussing conference room papers (CRPs) on sustainable use, invasive alien species (IAS), inland water ecosystems, mountain biodiversity, protected areas (PAs), marine and coastal biodiversity, and the Strategic Plan. Working Group II (WG-II) addressed CRPs on: technology transfer and cooperation; communication, education and public awareness (CEPA); operations of the Convention; Article 8(j) (traditional knowledge); access and benefit-sharing (ABS); financial resources and mechanism; cooperation with other conventions; and incentive measures. Parties convened in a brief afternoon Plenary and established a Friends of the President group to address outstanding issues. The Ministerial Segment continued discussing ABS, technology transfer and cooperation, and scientific assessments, and adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

Above photo: Members of the Greenpeace Kid's for Forest making a plea to Ministers to save the last remaining forests of the world.

Working Group I: Marine and Coastal Biodiversity

REPUBLIC OF KOREA opposed deleting a reference to coastal States' consent when establishing transboundary marine and coastal protected areas.
Above photo L-R: Byoung-Yoon Lee and EUN-Jung Bae (Republic of Korea)

MALDIVES expressed concern that many of the activities included in the proposed work plan on coral bleaching are inadequate.
Above photo: Ahmed Saleem (Maldives)

Strategic plan:

Brazil stressed the need to allocate time to identify and address obstacles to implementing the Convention, but expressed concern regarding the proliferation of ad hoc working groups within the CBD. Right photo L-R: Mitzi Gurgel Valente da Costa, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias and

Working Group II: Technology Transfer

CANADA presented compromise language agreed in a Friends of the Chair group, regarding convening: the CHM's informal advisory committee to assist the Executive Secretary.

Right photo: Tim Hodges (Canada)

ABS:



THAILAND offered to host one intersessional meeting of the ABS Working Group. Above photo: Delegates from Thailand.	Delegates debated the number of intersessional meetings the ABS Working Group should have. SWITZERLAND suggested two meetings and a clear recommendation to the budget group.

Article 8 (j)

BOLIVIA stressed the need for a meeting of the Article 8(j) Working Group, as it was interlinked with the ABS Working Group.

Ministerial Segment:

Erick Cabrera (Guatemala) for Central American Countries said that the Central American network of protected areas needs capacity building and institutional strengthening because many PAs are currently not fulfilling biodiversity conservation needs.

H. E. Martin Puta Tofinga (Kiribati) stressed the need to protect local science and to incorporate it into scientific assessments.

The Philippines said sustainable development and maintaining biodiversity are twin goals that will benefit all of humankind in the long run. Above photo L-R: H.E. Renato de Rueda and Mundita Lim (Philippines)

Malaysia said the process of establishing an ABS regime should be clear and transparent.

Above photo: H.E. Dato Hj. Zainal Dahalan (Malaysia)

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity stressed that the establishment of PAs requires the free and prior informed consent of indigenous and local communities on whose land they are established. Above photo: Joji Cariño (IIFB)

NGO Caucus said that time for action for biodiversity conservation is running out, urging governments to adopt clear targets and timelines to implement the work programme on PAs. Above photo: