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Expert Workshop on Protected Areas
17-18 March 2006 | Curitiba, Brazil
March 2006
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ENB Summary

20 March 2006


The Expert Workshop on Protected Areas of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opened on Friday, 17 March 2006, in Curitiba, Brazil, prior to the eighth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP). After welcoming remarks and organizational matters, participants discussed the implementation of activities/elements of the work programme on protected areas, identifying gaps in light of the targets of the work programme and suggesting possible measures for its effective implementation. The workshop also considered possible modifications to a draft revised matrix for the review of implementation of the work programme on PAs, which includes for each target of the work programme the criteria and information needed to assess implementation, possible sources of information and the description of progress and main obstacles. 

Ahmed Djoghlaf (above right), CBD Executive Secretary, welcomed participants to the expert workshop. He stressed the close interactions between the three objectives of the Convention, highlighting that biodiversity preservation is the precondition for sustainable use and benefit-sharing and protected areas are an essential tool for achieving the 2010 target to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss. Djoghlaf conveyed the Secretariat’s regret for not being able to convene the second meeting of the working group on PAs before COP-8. He noted that the expert workshop is not a substitute to the meeting of the working group, but can assist in the continuation of the working group’s work and encouraged the exchange of best practices and lessons learnt.

Adriana Tescari (above left), Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, welcomed participants to the meeting on behalf of Brazil, and thanked the Secretariat inviting her to chair the meeting. She referred to Brazil’s commitment to implement the work programme on PAs not only to protect but also to use biodiversity sustainably. 



During a round of self-introductions by the experts, the European Community (EC) attached great important to the work programme on PAs and its impacts on the ground and to use this workshop to assess progress in its implementation before COP-8.

Delegates adopted the agenda and the organization of work of the expert workshop.

Above photos L-R: Stefan Leiner (European Community), Tarsicio Granizo (Nature Conservancy) and Joy Hyvarinen (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)


Above photos L-R: Jo Mulongoy (CBD), Iurie Virgil Maxim (Romania) and Alexander Shestakov (Russian Federation)

The Secretariat made a presentation on the purpose of the workshop and its expected outputs, namely guidance to be forwarded to COP-8 as an information document on: the status of implementation of the work programme; ways and means to promote and facilitate implementation; and types and sources of information and resources needed to continue implementation. He noted that few governments, NGOs, and local and indigenous communities had provided the requested information on implementation of the work programme on PAs.

The Expert Workshop on Protected Areas is being held in response to a request contained in paragraph 8 (d) of recommendation 1/4 of the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Protected Areas. The main purpose of the Workshop is to pre-view the implementation of activities/elements of the programme of work on protected areas, to facilitate an informed review by the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The Workshop will also review the evaluation matrix contained in annex II to recommendation 1/4, pursuant to paragraph 8 (b) of the same recommendation. The report of the Workshop will be submitted to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties as an information document.

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