International news

Following accession by Slovakia on 29 December 2015, the total number of ratifications to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization now stands at 70.

Statement by the Executive Secretary at the opening of the CBD Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the Seas of East Asia, Xiamen, China, 14 - 18 December 2015

Message from the Executive Secretary: "The shift of ambition towards 1.5 degrees will make a big difference, particularly for the most vulnerable ecosystems such as coral reefs and polar ecosystems."

Covering some 22 per cent of the world's land surface, mountains are home to spectacular landscapes, a wide variety of ecosystems, a great diversity of species, and distinctive human communities, with approximately 955 million people, or 13 percent of the global population residing in mountain areas.

Governments encouraged to use biodiversity and ecosystem services as strategy for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction

Statement by Mr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the Capacity-Building Workshop for South, Central and West Asia on Achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12, New Delhi, India, 7 December 2015

Ambassador Mary Seet-Cheng, Chair of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council, Viet Nam Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Chu Pham Ngoc Hien, PEMSEA Executive Director, Stephen Adrian Ross, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, Chair Emeritus of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council, Honorable Ministers, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to address you at the East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting and it is fitting that the Congress chose "Global Targets, Local Benefits" as the theme this year.

Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to address you at the 51st International Tropical Timber Council with good news late on a day you have spent in difficult negotiations.

Governments at an international biodiversity science meeting have agreed on a set of actions for the further implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

First, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to Mr. Kenneth Deer and Mr. Charles Patton, Elders of the Mohawk Community from Kahnawake, Canada, for providing a traditional blessing and for sharing with us their rich cultural heritage, which is deeply rooted in this land.