COP | Working groups | Expert bodies | Instruments of CBD
Conference of the Parties (COP)
Delegates of the parties meet every two years to decide specific action based on the Convention’s sometimes somewhat generic prescriptions and to work on joint implementation. A key resolution in recent years (at COP 6) adopted a strategic plan to attain the 2010 target which is a commitment to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
Working groups and expert bodies
Alongside the COPs, various working groups and expert bodies have been formed to prepare COP resolutions and monitor target attainment. These working groups and bodies meet regularly between COPs and some have subgroups and committees.
A few examples:
SBSTTA (Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice)
- Working Group on Review of Implementation (WGRI)
- Working Group on Protected Areas (to establish a coherent global network of protected areas)
- Working Group on Article 8(j) (traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities in relation to biodiversity)
- Working Group on ABS (access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their utilisation)
Instruments
Various instruments serve to coordinate activities and member state reporting obligations and must therefore be implemented by all member states. Notable examples include:
- Programmes of work: Thematic programmes and cross-cutting issues under the CBD
- National biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs): Instruments used by individual states to conserve biodiversity.
- 2010 target: To achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010
- Clearing-house mechanism: CBD platform for information exchange and to promote scientific cooperation and technology transfer
- Financial mechanisms: The global environment facility (GEF) – the financial mechanism serving the Convention on Biological Diversity
