At the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9 CBD), to be held in Bonn in May 2008, the forest work programme and the programme of work on protected areas will both feature on the agenda. As part of the national implementation of the CBD goals, a National Strategy on Biological Diversity has been produced, which was adopted by the Federal Cabinet on 7 November 2007 and will be presented within the framework of the COP 9 as the Federal Government's official strategy. The Strategy includes statements about the development and sustainable use of Germany's forests as well as for wilderness areas. In order to implement the stated objectives, comprehensive policy recommendations and concepts are required which go far beyond the previous approaches adopted in nature conservation and forestry.