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Sixteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 16) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
30 April - 5 May 2012 | International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters, Montreal, Canada
Delegates drafting compromise text on biodiversity safeguards for REDD+.
On Friday, SBSTTA 16 delegates met in WGs throughout the day and in the evening.
WG I discussed outstanding issues on geo-engineering, collaborative work on biodiversity and agriculture, forests and biodiversity and health, biodiversity safeguards for REDD+, and also approved draft recommendations on biofuels and incentive measures. WG II continued considering revised draft recommendations on new and emerging issues and marine and coastal biodiversity. Both WGs also adopted their respective reports.
Working Group I
L-R: WG I Co-ChairOle Hendrickson, Canada, with Tim Christophersen, CBD Secretariat
Anselmina Liphola, Mozambique
Barbara DeRosa-Joynt, US
Ignatius Makumba, Zambia
L-R: Anne Teller and Thomas Koetz, EU
L-R: Wilson Rojas and Angel Onofa, Ecuador
L-R:Ignatius Makumba, Zambia; Thomas Koetz, EU; and Jesper Tranberg, Denmark
L-R: Thiago Medeiros da Cunha Cavalcanti, Brazil, and WG II Co-Chair Larissa Maria Lima Costa, Brazil
L-R: Annie Cung, CBD Secretariat, consulting with Jolene Cook, UK
L-R: Joy Angelica Santos-Doctor and Nermalie Lita, the Philippines
Kylychbek Zhundubaev, Kyrgyzstan
Mariana Bellot Rojas, Mexico
Christian Prip, Denmark
WG I Co-ChairOle Hendrickson, Canada, closing the WG I session.
L-R: WG I Co-Chairs Maadjou Bah, Guinea, and Ole Hendrickson, Canada
Working Group II
L-R: David Cooper, CBD Secretariat; WG I Co-Chair Gabrielle Obermayr, Austria, and Jihyun Lee, CBD Secretariat
Working Group II
On new and emerging issues, delegates continued discussing three options: not to add any new and emerging issues to SBSTTA’s agenda; adding synthetic biology, and initiating the compilation of relevant information; and an option suggested by Mexico to initiate the compilation of relevant information on synthetic biology without adding the item to SBSTTA’s agenda. An informal group met at lunchtime and in the evening to discuss options 2 and 3 and a proposal by the Philippines on the need to refer to the precautionary principle.
On EBSAs, delegates discussed at length: whether SBSTTA would recommend that COP “endorse” the summary reports of a series of regional workshops; and procedures related to how to incorporate considerations from regions in which workshops have yet to be completed in a fair and timely manner. The document was approved with text on “endorsing” the workshops remaining in brackets. On adverse impacts of human activities, debate ensued on the nature and scope of the “role” of fisheries management bodies regarding addressing impacts on biodiversity. Delegates also amended a section on underwater noise replacing “sound” with “noise” in several instances.
Delegates also approved a draft decision on spatial planning and voluntary guidelines on the consideration of biodiversity in environmental assessments in marine areas, with remaining brackets on a reference taking note of text under voluntary guidelines reflecting concerns raised by Aaustralia, Argentina and Dominican Republic regarding areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Discussions on outstanding issues will resume on Saturday.
Axel Benemann, Germany
Margaret Oduk, UNEP
Hisashi Endo, Japan
Jan Steinbring Jensen, Denmark
Xu Haigen, China
L-R: Catherine Benson, ENB, with Sebastian Marino, Palau
Takahiro Nakamura, UNEP
Célia Le Ravallec, ACCOBAMS
Peter Herkenrath, UNEP World Consevation Monitoring Centre
L-R: Noriko Moriwake and Fumiko Nakao, Japan
Alexander Shestakov, Russian Federation
Jean-Patrick Le Duc, France
Friends of the Chair Group on Emerging Issues
View of the packed session of the Friends of the Chair Group on Emerging Issues.
SBSTTA 16 Snapshots
L-R: Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana; SBSTTA 16 Chair Senka Barudanovic; and Joyce Thomas Peters, Grenada
L-R: Eric Hoffman, Friends of the Earth - US; Colin O'Neil, Center for Food Safety; and Ricarda Steinbrecher, Federation of German Scientists
Participants at the WG I session posing for a candid shot.
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Sixteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 16) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
