Biological diversity and climate change

Item 5.4 of the provisional agenda^*

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change

Note by the Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary is circulating herewith, for the information of participants in the ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change on the review of the interlinkages between biological diversity and climate change, and advice on the integration of biodiversity considerations into the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. The executive summary of the report, prepared by the Technical Expert Group, is contained in a separate note by the Executive Secretary (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/11), which also provides the background to the work of the Group. The report is available in English only.

Report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change

Introduction

1. 
   The Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biological Diversity and Climate Change held its third and final meeting at the Finnish Environment Institute in Helsinki, Finland, from 13 to 16 May 2003. The purpose of the meeting was to revise and revamp the previous version of the report after a peer review process by Parties, other Governments, experts, and non-governmental organizations, which took place between February and April 2003. Financial support for the meeting was provided by the Government of Finland. Nineteen experts attended the meeting (see annex I below).
   

Item 1. Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

2. 
   The meeting was opened by Mr. Pekka Kangas, General Director of the Ministry of the Environment, on Tuesday 13 May 2003, at 9 a.m.
   
3. 
   The representative of the Executive Secretary welcomed the participants and recalled the mandate of the Group as defined by the sixth meeting of SBSTTA in its recommendation VI/7, and also drawing attention to the decisions of the fifth and sixth meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity relevant to the interlinkages between biodiversity and climate change, as well as the relevant recommendations of the Convention Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its sixth meeting. The representative of the Executive Secretary also invited the Group to consider relevant additional issues that could be included in the report such as wetland ecosystems, migratory species, mountain ecosystems and ecological connectivity.
   
4. 
   The Group adopted the provisional agenda and its organization of work prepared by the Executive Secretary and contained in annex II to this report. It was agreed that the work would consist of finalizing the report chapters taking into account the reviews from Parties, other Governments, experts, and non-governmental organizations, based on the second version of the report. The second version was drafted—taking into account comments from an informal review process—by leading chapter authors during a meeting held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., January 22 to 25, 2003. The group decided at this meeting to add an additional chapter to the report on selected case studies that illustrate the harmonization of mitigation and adaptation activities and biodiversity conservation. Ms. Kanta Kumari (Global Environment Facility) agreed to lead the writing of the chapter.