SBSTTA meeting 8 in Montreal

The 8th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) was held in Montreal from 10-14 March, 2003. About 460 participants attended representing 121 governments, as well as UN agencies, IGOs, NGOs and other organisations. The meeting discussed and adopted recommendations on mountain biodiversity; inland water ecosystems; marine and coastal protected areas; dry and sub-humid land; biodiversity and tourism. The recommendations will be considered at the 7th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Main outcomes of the meeting include: - Proposal to establish an ad hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) on mountain biodiversity to assist SBSTTA on the review of the proposed work programme for mountain biodiversity. - A revised and further developed programme of work on inland water ecosystems. - To develop with the Ramsar Bureau a proposal on streamlining and improving the effectiveness of national reporting on inland water ecosystems. - To develop a monitoring and reporting system to assess the experiences gathered with respect to the usefulness and applicability of the guidelines on rapid assessment of biological diversity of inland water ecosystems. - A revised and further developed programme of work on marine and coastal biodiversity. - To establish a network of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs), in areas both within and beyond national jurisdiction, by 2012. - To establish an AHTEG on Integrated Marine and Coastal Area Management. - Recommendation to adopt best management practices for sustainable mariculture and to incorporate them into the national strategies and action plans. - To further compile information on the status and trends of deep seabed genetic resources. - Adoption of periodic assessment of status and trends of biodiversity in dry and sub-humid lands. - Recommendation to harmonize NBSAP under the CBD with the national action plans under the UNCCD. - Approval of the draft guidelines on biodiversity and sustainable tourism development. - Request for development of a users manual and checklist for biodiversity and sustainable tourism. http://www.iisd.ca/biodiv/sbstta8/