European Union

The 22nd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 22) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reached its halfway point Wednesday in Montreal. Delegates engaged in discussions on the following agenda items:  Biodiversity and climate change: ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction;  Invasive alien species;  Conservation and sustainable use of pollinators; and The second work programme of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). .A contact group on risk assessment and risk management of living modified organisms met during the lunch break, and contact groups on digital sequence information, and marine and coastal biodiversity met in the evening. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis from SBSTTA 22 and SBI 2. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Sigurdur Thrainsson (Iceland), SBSTTA Bureau; and Lisa Janishevski, CBD Secretariat Marie Haraldstad, Norway Lisama Sabry, Maldives Adam van Opzeeland, New Zealand Luciano Donadio, Argentina L-R: Anne Teller and Karin Zaunberger, EU Dilovarsho Dustov, Tajikistan Liew Pei Shi, Malaysia Ignacio March Mifsut, Mexico Jean-François Gobeil, Canada Catherine Debruyne, Belgium Christoph Dürr, Switzerland Barbara De Rosa-Joynt, US El Khitma El Awad Mohammed Ahmed, Sudan Anki Weibull, Sweden Gillian Guthrie, Jamaica Horst Korn, Germany Oscar Guevara, WWF Gwen Sisior, Palau Maheshwar Dhakal, Nepal Holly Jonas, Global Forest Coalition and ICCA Consortium Roxana Solis, Peru Grecia Bárcena, Global Youth Biodiversity Network Stan Lui, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) Lorenzo Ciccarese, Italy Barney Kgope, South Africa Christian Schwarzer, Global Youth Biodiversity Network, recording Grecia Bárcena's intervention L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Senka Barudanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), SBSTTA Bureau; Junko Shimura, CBD Secretariat; and Sarat Babu Gidda, CBD Secretariat T. Rabikumar, India Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico Helena Brown, Antigua and Barbuda Georgina Catacora-Vargas, Bolivia François Lengrand, France Johanna Niemivuo-Lahti, Finland Hendrik Segers, Belgium Chrissy Grant, IIFB Gregg Howald, Island Conservation Irene Hoffmann, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Amelia Arreguín, Mexico Anne Larigauderie, IPBES Executive Secretary L-R: Mohammed Mobarak Alshamlan and Faisal Shuraim, Saudi Arabia L-R: Glenn Litsios, Eva Spehn, and Norbert Bärlocher, Switzerland Junko Shimura, CBD Secretariat, with delegates from the Pacific Island states SBSTTA Side Event UNDP, UNEP, and the CBD Secretariat launched the UN Biodiversity Lab, a platform to support Parties to utilize spatial data in their Sixth National Report and conservation planning.

The 22nd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 22) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opened Monday morning, 2 July 2018, in Montreal, Canada. SBSTTA Chair Theresa Mundita Lim (Philippines) implored delegates to focus on the provision of scientific, technical, and technological advice, rather than politics. CBD Executive Secretary Cristiana Pașca Palmer highlighted that while significant progress has been made, biodiversity loss is continuing at alarming rates. Following the opening plenary, delegates engaged in discussions on the following agenda items: Digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI); Risk assessment and risk management of living modified organisms (LMOs); and Synthetic biology. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis from SBSTTA 22 and SBI 2. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Worku Damena Yifru, CBD Secretariat; Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; SBSTTA 22 Chair Theresa Mundita Lim, the Philippines; CBD Executive Secretary Cristiana Paşca Palmer; and CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper SBSTTA 21 Chair Theresa Mundita Lim, the Philippines CBD Executive Secretary Cristiana Paşca Palmer Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat Samuel Dieme, Rapporteur CBD SBSTTA 22 paused for a moment of silence in memory of Cheikh Ould Sidi Mohamed, Mauritania; Benoit Nzigidahera, Burundi; and Johansen Voker, Liberia. Andreas Obrecht, UNEP Gabriele Obermayr, Austria, on behalf of the EU Marthin Kasaona, Namibia Ilham Atho Mohamed, Maldives L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Ilham Atho Mohamed (Maldives), SBSTTA Bureau; and Manoela Pessoa de Miranda, CBD Secretariat Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt Liu Yan, China T. Rabikumar, India Sergiy Gubar, Ukraine José Luis Echeverría Tello, Guatemala Shirin Karryeva, Turkmenistan Mphatso Martha Kalemba, Malawi Leina Al-Awadhi, Kuwait Christian Schwarzer, Global Youth Biodiversity Network Lim Li Ching, Third World Network L-R: Abdul-Hakim Aulaiah, Yemen; Belal Alhayek, Syria; and Raed Bani-Hani, Jordan, in informal discussions on synthetic biology L-R: Kimo Goree, Vice President IISD; Elfriede Anna More, Austria; and Horst Korn, Germany L-R: Sugeng Harmono, Andri Wahyono, Endah Ambarwati, Lulu Agustina, and Dirhansyah Conbul, Indonesia L-R: Clarissa Arida and Elpidio Peria, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity L-R: Fedor Shestakov, Observer; Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; and Marina von Weissenberg, Finland L-R: Segundo Angel Onofa Guayasamin, Wilson Rojas, Andrés Ricardo Factos Mendoza, and Alba Katherine Calles Procel, Ecuador Delegates from Thailand L-R: Johany Martinez, Franca d'Amico, and Lisa Pedicelli, CBD Secretariat

On Friday, delegates to the nineteenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-19) completed their work. In the morning, delegations were given an opportunity to review the Co-Chairs’ draft summary of the week’s discussions. Plenary then reconvened for a page-by-page review. Delegates discussed the draft and suggested corrections and clarifications to best capture discussions. Key points from the summary included: Importance of addressing socioeconomic impacts on sectors such as tourism, fishing and transportation, among others; Gaps in knowledge and lack of data on sources and impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise; Anthropogenic underwater noise as a form of pollution and links with other drivers such as ocean acidification; Management approaches highlighted by delegates, including area-based management tools and Environmental Impact Assessments; and Suggestions that the UN General Assembly in a resolution could characterize anthropogenic underwater noise as a form of transboundary pollution to be mitigated and addressed. The Co-Chairs thanked delegates for their participation in discussions over the course of the week and Co-Chair Beckles closed ICP-19. A side-event titled, “The International Nitrogen Management System: A New Science-Policy Initiative to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution,” was hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage from the 19th Meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. In addition IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary A view of the room during the last day of the meeting Co-Chair Kornelios Korneliou, Cyprus Howard Rosenbaum, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS John Brincat, European Union Elizabeth Phelps, US Alice L. de Juvigny, International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) Rebecca Lent, International Whaling Commission (IWC) Nathan Merchant, Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture, United Kingdom Frank Thomsen, Central Dredging Association (CEDA) G. Latha, India Fleur Hamilton, Australia Nadia Deckert, France Mariana Melcon, Argentina Heidrun Frisch-Nwakanma, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) René Dekeling, the Netherlands Howard Rosenbaum, WCS Ramona Sladic, Canada Delegates read the Co-Chairs’ draft summary of the meeting Delegates from Australia Delegates from Guatemala Delegates consult informally Around the UN L-R: Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, ENB; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Diego Noguera, Teya Penniman, and Wanja Dorothy Nyingi, ENB