Eleventh meeting on COP11 to begin tomorrow

The eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which begins in Hyderabad tomorrow, will discuss the next steps in support of implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, agreed at COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan.

The plan, a ten-year framework for action in support of implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and its 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, has been established as the overall framework for biodiversity in the United Nations. In line with their commitments in Nagoya, countries have been updating their national biodiversity strategies and action plans to achieve the Aichi targets.

COP 11 is expected to review progress so far and to produce decisions that will provide further momentum for implementation of the targets, officials said. Resource mobilisation for action on the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets will be at the top of the agenda. Drawing upon several reports and extensive preparatory consultations, including a recent high-level panel on financing convened by India and the United Kingdom, governments will agree on targets for financial resource mobilisation of financial resources, as well as on the baseline and a framework for reporting.

The status of biodiversity in the world's oceans will also be highlighted. A report on ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) will be presented. The report, the product of two year's work by scientific experts, provides a scientifically rigorous assessment of the status of biodiversity in these areas.

- PTI