Biodiversity

CBD COP9 and MOP4

The ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9) is taking place in Bonn, Germany from 19 to 30 May 2008. COP9 is preceded by the fourth meeting of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP4), also in Bonn, from 12 to 16 May 2008.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will be attending the High Level Segment of COP9, where Ministers will negotiate the main political decisions to be taken at the conference. The High Level Segment will be opened by several Heads of State and Government on 28 May, which will also be attended by President Barroso.

Check out the official webpages at CBD COP9 and MOP4.

The main focus at MOP4 is on the finalisation of international rules and procedures on liability and redress for damage that may occur when GMOs are traded internationally.

The issues to be discussed at COP9 include assessing and strengthening progress towards the implementation of the Convention, with a special focus on agriculture biodiversity, forest biodiversity, protected areas and invasive alien species. The conference will also be studying ways of maximising the co-benefits between climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; guidance to ensure that the rising demand for bioenergy and biofuels does not have a negative impact on biodiversity; the development of specific criteria to identify valuable marine areas in need of protection; and ways of advancing the international negotiations on access and benefit sharing in the field of genetic resources.

The broad lines of the EU position for COP9 and MOP4 have been adopted by the Environment Council: COP9 Council Conclusions of 28 June 2007 and COP9 Council Conclusions of 3 March 2008; and MOP4 Council Conclusions of 3 March 2008.

You can follow the negotiations of these meetings at:

http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cop9/ for COP9; and

http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/bs-copmop4/ for MOP4.

Additional links and documents:

The official webpages of CBD COP9 and MOP4.

Brochure (pdf ~700Kb) on "The Convention on Biological Diversity: Implementation in the European Union"