Matters related to the financial mechanism and resources

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,

Recalling paragraph 2 (a) of decision III/5, paragraph 1 of decision V/13, paragraph 10 (b) of decision VI/17 and paragraphs 21-26 of decision VII/20, in which the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity provided guidance to the financial mechanism in respect of capacity-building in biosafety,

Alsorecalling decision III/8 of the Conference of the Parties, concerning the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Council of the Global Environment Facility,

Having considered the note by the Executive Secretary on matters related to the financial mechanism and resources (UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/2/5),

Welcoming the statement made by the representative of the Global Environment Facility providing updates on its activities in response to biosafety-related guidance from the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,

Noting with appreciation the letter jointly signed by the Chief Executive Officer/Chairman of the Global Environment Facility and the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity clarifying the procedures to be followed in the implementation of the eligibility criteria for the Parties to the Convention that are not yet Parties to the Protocol,

Taking note of the ongoing evaluation of the activities financed under the initial strategy approved by the Council for assisting countries to prepare for the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol, which is being undertaken by the Office of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Global Environment Facility and which is expected to be completed in time for submission to the meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility in November 2005,

1. Encourages all donors and their agencies as well as the Global Environment Facility to simplify, to the extent possible, their project cycle requirements in order to expedite access, by developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and the small island developing States among them, and the Parties with economies in transition, to the financial resources needed to assist the implementation of the Protocol;

2. Welcomes the continuing efforts of the Global Environment Facility to expand its support for the national components of the Biosafety Clearing-House as well as for development and implementation of the national biosafety frameworks, taking into account lessons learned and experience gained from its initial biosafety strategy;

3 Invites the Office of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Global Environment Facility to make its biosafety-related review reports available to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity prior to the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;

4. Invites countries that have received funding from the Global Environment Facility for activities referred to in paragraph 21 (b) of decision VII/20 to report to the Executive Secretary of the Convention on actions being taken towards becoming Parties to the Protocol, and requests the Executive Secretary to compile the national reports that he receives and distribute the compiled reports to the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and to the Council of the Global Environment Facility for information;

5. Encourages the Global Environment Facility and the Executive Secretary of the Convention to continue their strong collaboration in advancing support to the implementation of the Protocol;

6. Also encourages the Global Environment Facility to further develop its funding modalities for organizing its support to the Protocol in a systematic and flexible manner;

7. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility and with the Coordination Mechanism for the implementation of the Action Plan for Building Capacities for the Effective Implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to assess status of funding and promote coordination, coherence and synergies in financing for biosafety activities among donors and their agencies in order to facilitate the avoidance of duplication of work, identify gaps in funding activities and possible options to address them;

8. Invites the Executive Secretary to cooperate, upon request and subject to availability of financial resources, with relevant stakeholders in providing advice, know-how and expertise in respect of development and implementation as well as oversight and evaluation of biosafety-project activities.