International news

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.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the nineteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and to welcome you all back to Montreal. It has been a year since we gathered in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, for COP 12, where important decisions were taken.

Some 600 delegates from around the world will gather together in Montreal, Canada, next week to examine the effectiveness of measures taken by Governments to implement the global biodiversity agenda and mainstream biodiversity into sustainable development through implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. Discussions will focus on policy coherence and the monitoring of progress in achieving the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

With traditional blessings by the Elders of the local Mohawk Community of Kahnawake setting the scene, governments, indigenous peoples and local communities from around the world will meet in Montreal, Canada, next week to develop guidelines that will assist Parties and governments to develop national measures for the protection, promotion and use of traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it underpins can be the basis for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies as they can deliver benefits that will, according to the outcomes of a recent technical workshop on ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, increase the resilience of people to the impacts of climate change.

Poverty eradication is one of the greatest global challenges facing us today. Fortunately, the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity can provide solutions to a range of societal challenges and is critical to achieving the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.