International news

Belgium and Bulgaria are the latest countries to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), bringing the total number of ratifications to 80.

Montreal/Rome, 9 August 2016 - The 23rd session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO23), which took place in Rome, Italy 18-22 July 2016, took an effective approach that focused on the interlinkages between forest and other sectors and issues, including biodiversity and climate change. COFO23 helped to showcase how countries have been devising forest policies which provide mutual benefits for the forestry sector as well as for agriculture, watershed management, biodiversity, recreation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and sustainable development.

While many countries have made significant advances, indigenous peoples continue to face challenges in accessing their right to education, in particular their right to access a culturally appropriate education inclusive of their histories, world views and traditional knowledge and delivered through culturally appropriate teaching strategies, in appropriate cultural settings, and in their own languages.

One hundred and one Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have submitted new national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), setting out their national contributions to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a set of 20 global targets to be achieved by 2020.

Uganda, a country renowned for its rich biodiversity, is taking strides to integrate gender considerations into its national policies, plans and programmes to implement its obligations under the Convention and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

The oceans have long captured the hearts and minds of people around the world. The mysteries of its depths, the wonder of its creatures and the power of its waves have fed our curiosity and imagination since ancient times.

Statement by Mr. Braulio F. de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, at the opening of the Regional Workshop for the Pacific on the Clearing-House Mechanism, Nadi, Fiji, 13-17 June 2016

Statement of Mr. Braulio F. de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the Capacity-Building Workshop for Central and Eastern Europe on Achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12, Minsk, Belarus, 14 June 2016

Montreal, 13 June 2016 - China, Finland and Zambia are the latest countries to ratify the ground-breaking Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, bringing the total number of ratifications to the treaty to 78.

This year's World Day to Combat Desertification shows the importance of being inclusive as we cooperate to restore and rehabilitate degraded land. It also points to the convergence of international action and landmark agreements recently adopted which recognize the links between the different global challenges of our times.