Association of South East Asian Nations

Highlights for Sunday, 2 June 2019 A view of the opening plenary of CCICED 2019 AGM in Hangzhou, China The 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) opened at the Hangzhou International Expo Center, China, on Sunday. The meeting began in the morning with the presentation in plenary of research findings from eight CCICED Special Policy Studies, conducted under the aegis of its four task forces. Liu Shijin, CCICED Chinese Chief Advisor, and Scott Vaughan, CCICED Chief International Advisor and former CEO, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), co-chaired the opening plenary. Vaughan expressed warm appreciation for the efforts of all concerned, and Liu invited comments from participants. Under Task Force 1 on global governance and ecological civilization, speakers presented findings and recommendations of their studies on: global climate governance and China’s role; post-2020 global biodiversity conservation; and global ocean governance and ecological civilization.Under Task Force 2 on green urbanization and environmental improvement, they presented on: green urbanization strategy and pathways towards regional integrated development; ecological compensation and green development institutional reform in the Yangtze River Economic Belt; and goals and pathways for environmental improvement in 2035.Under Task Force 3 on innovation, sustainable production and consumption, findings and recommendations from an SPS on green transition and sustainable social governance were presented.Under Task Force 4 on green energy, investment and trade, they discussed efforts toward the Green Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and achieving 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants then provided feedback and made further suggestions on these topics. Discussions highlighted many examples of good practice, as well as opportunities for improvements in policy and practice.In the afternoon, they engaged in focused discussions in six open forums. Many participants highlighted the need to adopt a systems approach that will allow for cross-cutting and multi-stakeholder approaches to problem solving. In the evening, invited guests attended a gala dinner hosted by CCICED. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary report from CCICED 2019 AGM. L-R: Dais during the opening plenary with Bernice Lee, Executive Director, Hoffmann Centre, Chatham House; Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF; Erik Solheim, CCICED Vice Chair, Senior Advisor of World Resources Institute; Xie Zhenhua, Co-Chair, Green BRI Taskforce and China's Special Envoy on Climate Change; Zhao Yingmin, CCICED Secretary General, Vice Minister of Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Liu Shijin, China Development Research Foundation and former Deputy President, Development Research Center of the State Council; and Scott Vaughan, Chief International Advisor to CCICED and former CEO, IISD Scott Vaughan, Chief International Advisor to CCICED and former CEO, IISD Liu Shijin, China Development Research Foundation and former Deputy President, Development Research Center of the State Council Wang Yi, Chinese Academy of Sciences Jan-Gunnar Winther, Director, Norwegian Polar Institute Ma Keping, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Li Lin, Director of Global Policy and Advocacy, WWF Amy Leung, Director-General, East Asia Department, Asian Development Bank Zhang Yongsheng, Vice Director-General, Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy of Development Research Center of the State Council Wolfgang Seidel, Head of the President's Office, German Environment Agency L-R: Dimitri de Boer, Country Director for China, Client Earth; Galit Cohen, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel; and Stephan Contius, Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany Åsa Romson, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director, Asia Regional Office, IUCN Zhou Guomei, Acting Director-General, China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center Xie Zhenhua addresses the plenary Bernice Lee, Executive Director, Hoffmann Centre, Chatham House Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF Photos from the Parallel Open Forum Xie Zhenhua and Åsa Romson Jorgen Thomsen, Director, Climate Solutions, MacArthur Foundation Jonathan Pershing, Program Director for Environment, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation L-R: Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility; Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF; and Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director, UN Environment Programme Alexander Shestakov, Convention on Biological Diversity Harvey Locke, Co-Founder and Strategic Adviser, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Hideki Minamikawa, President, Japan Environmental Sanitation Center Basile van Havre, Co-Chair of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework L-R: Jing Xin, Zou Yueyu, Wang Qian, and Gu Li, China

The following event was covered by IISD Reporting Services on Monday, 3 December 2018: Alignment to Advance Climate-Resilient Development: Linking NAPs and NDCs Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz / Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Alignment to Advance Climate-Resilient Development: Linking NAPs and NDCs Presented by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Family photo of the panelists This event was organized by the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network whose Secretariat is hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Participants convened to explore ways to advance implementation of adaptation needs and goals by realizing linkages between the NAP process and nationally determined contributions (NDCs). At the outset, the objectives of the event were to better understand: at the international scale, the linkages and areas of coherence between the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and the potential benefits and challenges associated with aligning countries’ NAP processes and their NDCs. Christian Ledwell, NAP Global Network, moderated this event. Anika Terton, NAP Global Network, presented on the connections among the global agendas related to climate change, DRR and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pointing to a workshop on strengthening alignment of NDCs and NAPs in Thailand in 2018, she highlighted that 15 countries mapped their alignment of the two processes, which exposed that all countries would want the processes aligned in future. Terton highlighted the political, coordination and institutional challenges related to this alignment, and pointed to the opportunities for enhancing alignment, including the efficient use of climate finance and even leveraging additional financing. Malte Maass, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), highlighted the confusion between functions and roles of the NDC and the NAP process, noting that NDC focuses on mitigation, while the NAP is a rolling plan aimed at integrating climate adaptation planning into national planning processes. Stressing that climate resilient development is at the heart of the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework and the SDGs, he highlighted the need to find synergies in implementing these three agendas to avoid duplication of work and financial resources. Jerome Ilagan, the Philippines, highlighted the need for solid “policy grounding” to link NAPs and NDCs, and shared that the Philippine National Climate Change Action Plan is the foundation of the NAP and NDC. Stressing the importance of understanding local-level needs to plan for specific risks, he noted the importance of national stocktaking exercises, which are informed by local-level actions. He stressed the complementarity of the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework in addressing the many typhoons that plague the region, pointing to work under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address regional adaptation plans. Vositha Wijenayake, Sri Lanka, outlined that the country links the NDC and NAP processes to avoid duplication of efforts, and highlighted that Sri Lanka is also trying to integrate actions related to DRR and climate change in implementing the SDGs. She stressed the need for capacity building as well as a binding mandate for various agencies to align the two issues. On regional bodies, she suggested sector-based NAPs that could positively affect the region, for instance adaptation measures in the agriculture sector. Emily Fadzai Matingo, Zimbabwe, discussed her country’s vulnerability to climate change due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture, and noted that the country is exploring both adaptation and mitigation strategies in this sector. She also highlighted the need to mainstream gender in the NAP process to ensure countries include the voices of women and vulnerable groups in adaptation planning and in the NDC process, calling on development partners to assist in this regard. She said that the strong political will at the level of the Office of the President has ensured the country can address climate change. Commenting on the importance of resilient development, Edgar Hernán Cruz Martínez, Colombia, pointed to the gap in translating national frameworks to local decision-making processes. He noted that the first point of entry into alignment of the NAPs process and the NDC is at the local level, stressing that national level planning must consider all the resources needed for implementation at the local level. He shared that adaptation, risk management and Colombia’s NDC are integrated, noting that for the second round of the NDC an indicator-tracker system will be implemented to track mitigation and adaptation plans and actions. Noting that the Partnership supports governments in identifying country needs for NDC implementation, Robert Bradley, Knowledge and Research Director, NDC Partnership, highlighted that no country has mastered the alignment of NDCs and NAPs. He stressed that the NDC process is iterative, pointing to opportunities for alignment, and underlined the importance of finance for implementation. Stressing the importance of a country-led process, he pointed to individual countries' efforts to ensure development partners can target their support most effectively. Acknowledging that building capacity takes time, he pointed to the Philippines work on GHG monitoring plan as an example of a lasting, sustainable initiative. In the ensuing discussion, participants considered: opportunities available for aligning NDCs and NAPs in Zimbabwe; trade-offs between NDCs and NAPs; challenges in advancing adaptation in NDCs; the role of regional integration in the NAP process, including South-South learning; and the role for alignment at both the sub-national and the national levels. L-R: Moderator Christian Ledwell, IISD; Malte Maass, GIZ; Jerome Ilagan, the Philippines; Edgar Hernán Cruz Martínez, Colombia; Emily Fadzai Matingo, Zimbabwe; Vositha Wijenayake, Sri Lanka; and Robert Bradley, Knowledge and Research Director, NDC Partnership Robert Bradley, Knowledge and Research Director, NDC Partnership Anika Terton, IISD Moderator Christian Ledwell, IISD Vositha Wijenayake, Sri Lanka Emily Fadzai Matingo, Zimbabwe Edgar Hernán Cruz Martínez, Colombia Jerome Ilagan, the Philippines Till Below, GIZ Malte Maass, GIZ Alqayam Meghji, Cornell University Participants during the event A view of the NDC Partnership Pavilion CONTACT Anika Terton | aterton@iisd.ca MORE INFORMATION https://www.iisd.org/event/cop24-side-event-alignment-advance-climate-resilient-development-linking-naps-and-ndcs Around the Venue

Civil society action in the corridors of the Conference On Sunday, Working Group I approved conference room papers (CRPs) on: knowledge management under the Convention; the ABS Clearing-House and information sharing; operations and activities of the Biosafety Clearing-House; communication under the Convention; review mechanisms under the Convention; compliance under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; review of experience in holding concurrent meetings under the Convention and its Protocols; and capacity building under the Cartagena Protocol. Working Group II heard reports from contact groups, addressed biodiversity and climate change, and approved CRPs on: transit and contained use of living modified organisms under the Cartagena Protocol; and the Rutzolijirisaxik voluntary guidelines for repatriation of traditional knowledge. An afternoon plenary heard reports, adopted numerous decisions, and witnessed a ceremony for the Clearing-House Mechanism awards. Contact groups and Friends of the Chair groups met throughout the day to address: the budget; liability and redress under the Convention; Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) Article 10 (global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism); ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs); resource mobilization and the financial mechanism; and socio-economic considerations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. For more details on the day’s events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily reports, daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis from the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, CBD Secretariat; Hayo Haanstra (the Netherlands), Chair of Working Group I; and Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, CBD Secretariat L-R: David Ainsworth, Erie Tamale, and Kata Koppel, CBD Secretariat Ana María Hernández Salgar, Colombia Maria Luisa Angelica Del Rio Mispireta, Peru L-R: Alicja Kozlowska and Elfriede Anna More, EU Aboubacar Oulare, Guinea T. Rabikumar, India Antje Lorch, ECOROPA Maho Matsumoto, Japan Larbi Sbaï, Morocco Nonita Caguioa, the Philippines Alejandra Barrios Pérez, Mexico Li Lin Lim, Third World Network Lactitia Tshitwamulomoni, South Africa Christine Akello, Uganda L-R: Victoria Romero and Sonia Peña Moreno, IUCN Delegates from Egypt L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Clarissa Nina (Brazil), Chair of Working Group II; and Lisa Janishevski, CBD Secretariat Hlobsile Sikhosana, Eswatini Stephanie Mary Villaseñor, Costa Rica Jesús Guerra Bell, Cuba L-R: Anna Gureva and Duncan Borg, Malta L-R: Ba Moussa and Diagana Mallé, Mauritania Ta'hirih Hokafonu, Tonga Sara Mashhadi Ali Akbar, Iran Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Ahmed Sabah, Iraq Adam van Opzeeland, New Zealand Adem Bilgin, Turkey L-R: Worku Damena Yifru, CBD Secretariat; David Cooper, CBD Deputy Executive Secretary; COP 14 President Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt; and Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary COP 14 President Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, CISDL Lily Rodriguez, International Union of Biological Sciences L-R: Sheila Wertz-Kanounnikoff, UN Food and Agriculture Organization; Cathy Oke, ICLEI; and Ghanimat Azhdari, Cenesta Gabriele Obermayr, Austria Mitzi Gurgel Valente da Costa, Brazil Gaute Voigt-Hanssen, Norway Scott Wilson, Canada Moment of silence for Olivier de Munck, CBD Secretariat COP 14 CHM Award winners David Cooper, CBD Deputy Executive Secretary, with delegates from the Caribbean L-R: Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary, and Theresa Mundita Lim, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), at the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between CBD and ACB Delegates from Brazil L-R: Anwar Abu Sakieneh, Jane Smart, and Dao Nguyen, IUCN L-R: Martha Kandawa-Shultz and Lavinia Mbongo, Namibia L-R: Odacy Davis, Patrick Chesney, Stacy Lord, Vincent Adams, and Diana Fernandes, Guyana Civil society action in the corridors of the Conference  

Seeds and spices from Cameroon Day 8 at the Rio Conventions Pavilion took place under the overall theme of ‘Harnessing Biodiversity for a Healthy and Resilient Future.’ Discussions on Health Day highlighted emerging initiatives, partnerships, tools and opportunities for engagement, with a focus on integrated approaches for maximizing co-benefits for ecosystems and human health.The Day aimed to: Provide a forum to showcase new tools, best practices and lessons learned to foster interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration on biodiversity and health; Present scalable initiatives to support implementation and policy coherence in the context of global environmental change; Contribute to the dialogue on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, to ensure key issues at the intersection of biodiversity and health are well embedded and aligned with global commitments for sustainable development; and Contribute to the development of communities of practice on integrated approaches to health, such as One Health, aimed at informing actionable policies and bridging the science-policy gap at appropriate scales. A highlight of Health Day was the launch of the ‘Global Biodiversity for Health’ 2020 challenge, aimed at restoring green urban spaces in 20 cities across 20 countries by COP 15 in 2020.The Day was co-organized by the CBD and the World Health Organization (WHO) and diverse partners working at the interface of health and biodiversity. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Creating healthy and resilient societies: Local perspectives Michael Garbo, Society for the Conservation of Nature, Liberia Hewadhura Gedera Nimalasiri Hewanila, Nirmanee Development Foundation, Sri Lanka Cristina Romanelli, CBD Secretariat Raja Sharma Rymbai, Indigenous Terra Madre Network Suneetha Subramanian, Biodiversity and Community Health Initiative Harnessing local and national commitments to achieve planetary health From L-R: Simon Rüegg, The Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH); Marieta Sakalian, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); and Elpidio Peria, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Elpidio Peria, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Simon Rüegg, NEOH Marieta Sakalian, UNEP Pierluigi Bozzi, International University Network on Cultural and Biological Diversity (IUNCBD) Official Launch: 2020 Challenge - Healthy Urban Microbiome Initiative (HUMI) From L-R: Martin Breed, University of Adelaide; David Cooper, CBD Secretariat; David Philips, National Health Service, UK; Craig Liddicoat, HUMI; and Jacob Mills, HUMI David Cooper, CBD Secretariat Jacob Mills, HUMI Martin Breed, University of Adelaide, and Cristina Romanelli, CBD Secreatariat Craig Liddicoat, HUMI Healthy Food Systems for a Sustainable Future From L-R: Gam Shimray, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP); Prem Mathur, Bioversity International; Gamini Samarasinghe, Plant Genetic Resources Centre; Hasan Gezginç, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkey; Victor Wasike, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO); and Teresa Borelli, Bioversity International Gam Shimray, AIPP Teresa Borelli, Bioversity International Victor Wasike, KALRO Danny Hunter, Bioversity International Linking public health and ecosystem approaches for the prevention of infectious diseases Catherine Machalaba, EcoHealth Alliance Chadia Wannous, Toward A Safer World Network for Pandemic Preparedness Laetitia Navarro, Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) The Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework for healthy and resilient societies Cheryl Charles, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Masatoshi Funabashi, Sony Computer Science Laboratories Balakrishna Pisupati, Forum for Law, Environment, Development and Governance (FLEDGE) From L-R: Hilary Allison, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Jamison Ervin, UNDP; Verónica Ruíz García, IUCN; and Cheryl Charles, IUCN Around the Venue  

Indigenous photo exhibit at COP 14 On Tuesday, Working Group I discussed a series of items on information sharing, national reporting, and assessment and review, under the Convention and its Protocols, including: •   knowledge management and communication under the Convention; •   operations and activities of the Biosafety Clearing-House; •   access and benefit-sharing (ABS) Clearing-House and information sharing under the Nagoya Protocol; •   mechanisms for national reporting, and assessment and review under the Convention; •   monitoring and reporting, and assessment and review under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; and •   monitoring and reporting under the Nagoya Protocol on ABS.WG II addressed: •    sustainable wildlife management; •    conservation and sustainable use of pollinators; •    Article 8(j) (traditional knowledge); •    biodiversity and climate change. •    enhancing integration under the Convention and its Protocols with respect to provisions related to ABS, biosafety, and Article 8(j); •    the second work programme of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); •   spatial planning, protected areas, and other effective area-based conservation measures; and •   marine and coastal biodiversity.In the afternoon and evening, plenary held an interactive dialogue on approaches to living in harmony with nature; and addressed preparations for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.A contact group on socio-economic considerations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety met in the evening.For more details on the day’s events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily reports, daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis from the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Hayo Haanstra (the Netherlands), Chair of Working Group I Kata Koppel, CBD Secretariat Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, CBD Secretariat L-R: David Ainsworth, Kata Koppel and Erie Tamale, CBD Secretariat Norsham Abdul Latip, Malaysia Joseph Masinde, Kenya L-R: Anne Teller and Tone Smith Spash, EU Leslie Melissa Ojeda Cabrera, Guatemala Raja Rymbai, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) Lavinia Mbongo, Namibia Daniel Wai-Poi, New Zealand Dubravka Stepic, Croatia Augustin Kone, Côte d'Ivoire Wadzi Mandivenyi, South Africa Sandagdorj Bayarkhuu, Mongolia L-R: Sorin Ivan, Andrei Petica, and Madalin Blidaru, Romania L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Clarissa Nina, (Brazil), Chair of Working Group II; and Sarat Babu Gidda, CBD Secretariat Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services L-R: Roosa Atula and Marjukka Mähönen, Finland Mercy Munyadzwe, Botswana Senka Barudanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mitzi Gurgel Valente da Costa, Brazil Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez, the Philippines L-R: Agung Nugroho and Des Alwi, Indonesia Pedro Ivo Arriegas, Portugal Fiona Cumming, New Zealand Melissa Laverde, Colombia Jean-François Gobeil, Canada Christine von Weizsäcker, ECOROPA Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana Andri Wahyono, Indonesia Nahla Adel Noobi, United Arab Emirates Gwen Sisior, Palau Glenn Litsios, Switzerland Günter Mitlacher, WWF L-R: David Cooper, CBD Deputy Executive Secretary; COP 14 President Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt; and Cristiana Paşca Palmer, CBD Executive Secretary David Monacchi, Fragments of Extinction Eco-acoustic analysis of a rain forest Paul Leadley, University of Paris-South Josefa Cariño-Tauli, Global Youth Biodiversity Network Halldor Thorgeirsson, former member of the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Fuwen Wei, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Delegates from Burkina Faso Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez and Tony La Viña, the Philippines, posing with the panda from WWF L-R: Raed Bani Hani, Jordan, with Amr Abdel-Meguid, Khaled Allam Harhash, and Mohamed Aljilani, Egypt Participants from the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity L-R: Amir Soliman, Egypt; Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana; Keiichi Nakazawa, Japan; and Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt Clearing-house Mechanism booth  

Seizo Sumida, Japan, in a conversation with COP 14 participants On Sunday, Working Group I (WG I) addressed: progress in the implementation of the Convention and the Strategic Plan; assessment and review of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing (ABS); digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources; and specialized international ABS agreements. WG II considered: synthetic biology; risk assessment and risk management under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; unintentional transboundary movements and emergency measures under the Cartagena Protocol; transit and contained use of living modified organisms; the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress; and socio-economic considerations under the Cartagena Protocol. A contact group on synthetic biology met in the evening. For more details on the day’s events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily reports, daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis from the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page View of Working Group I Hayo Haanstra, (the Netherlands), Chair of Working Group I Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, CBD Secretariat L-R: Leina Al-Awadhi, Shareefa Sultan Al-Salem, and Abdullah Al-Zaidan, Kuwait Nouf Ali Al-Wasmi, Bahrain El Hadj Sy, Mali Ruth Spencer, CBD Women's Network Xu Jing, China L-R: Amelia Arreguín and Christian Schwarzer, Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Luciana Melchert, Brazil Parkinson Ndonye, Kenya Joji Cariño, IIFB Verona Collantes, UN Women L-R: Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, CBD Secretariat; Hayo Haanstra (the Netherlands), Chair of Working Group I; and Robert Höft, CBD Secretariat View of Working Group II Clarissa Nina, (Brazil), Chair of Working Group II Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, CBD Secretariat Ahmed Birouk, Morocco Sujata Arora, India Biodiversity blocks around the venue featuring various wildlife and habitats Hesiquio Benitez Diaz, Mexico Keiko Okamoto, Japan Jaime Montoya, the Philippines Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group Martin Krebs, Switzerland Gurdial Singh, Malaysia Eny Sudarmonowati, Indonesia L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Clarissa Nina, (Brazil), Chair of Working Group II; and Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, CBD Secretariat Sheila Vergara, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, with Delfin Ganapin, WWF L-R: Belal Alhayek, Syria; Raed Bani-Hani, Jordan; Issa Albaradeiya, State of Palestine; and Lahcene Rekik, CBD Secretariat COP 14 participants at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China, exhibition booth Virtual reality demonstration at the Costa Rica exhibition booth Egyptian pavilion at COP 14