Highlights and images for 27 August 2021

Negotiations at the third meeting of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) reconvened in two contact group meetings: on tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming; and on digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources.

The contact group on tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming, co-led by Anne Teller (European Union) and Jorge Murillo (Colombia) convened for its first deliberation on targets of the GBF. At the start of the meeting, the Working Group Co-Chairs Francis Ogwal (Uganda) and Basile van Havre (Canada), urged Parties to remain targeted, concise and clear in their interventions and to focus on key aspects of the texts in order to set the stage for the in-person meeting of the Working Group on the GBF scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2022.

During the contact group discussions, Parties deliberated on targets 14 and 15: on integrating biodiversity values across society; and ensuring that businesses minimize their dependence, and negative impacts on biodiversity.

The contact group on DSI reconvened thereafter under the guidance of Co-Lead Lactitia Tshitwamulomoni (South Africa) to deliberate on a third version of the Co-Lead’s paper composed of:

• Draft recommendation submitted by the Co-Leads for consideration at this meeting of the Working Group.
• Potential elements of a draft recommendation to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15).
• Annex I: The Co-Lead’s summary on draft potential areas of convergence and of apparent divergence on DSI on genetic resources.
• Annex II: Text proposals related to DSI in the GBF.

The contact group elaborated further on the areas of convergence and divergence among Parties on DSI on genetic resources.