The CMS Secretariat will hold a Regional Preparatory and Negotiation Pre-COP Workshop in Nadi, Fiji on 18-20 August to prepare Pacific representatives for the upcoming 11^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CMS COP11).

The primary purpose of this workshop is to inform National Focal Points (NFPs) about how they can facilitate regional co-operation at COP11 held in Quito, Ecuador on 4-9 November this year.  This workshop, co-sponsored by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), is designed to familiarize National Focal Points with important documents and issues prior to the COP and to enable participants from the Pacific region to develop common positions on issues that will be of priority interest to them. The Pacific workshop forms part of a series of four regional capacity building workshops in the run-up of the COP.

In addition to formal COP preparation, this workshop will also cover further topics including general training on negotiating tailored to MEAs and on the use of other CMS capacity building instruments.  By providing an overview on the information available in the CMS Family Manual and on the e-community web page, the Secretariat hopes to facilitate NFP participation throughout the COP cycle.  The CMS Family Manual instructs NFPs on how they can successfully meet their obligations, while the e-community establishes a forum for education and communication outside meetings.

Financial support for this workshop was provided through the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Project between the European Commission, UNEP and FAO. This meeting is part of a larger initiative to strengthen the participation of developing countries in CMS activities as an element of its capacity-building strategy.   Co facilitation of the regional preparatory workshops will provide National Focal Points with an improved perspective by offering both a top-down and bottom-up approach to the facilitation of CMS. 

For more information and updates on the Pacific Preparatory Workshop, please e-mail Francisco Rilla [email protected] or Penina Solomona [email protected].

Related links:
http://www.cms.int/en/pre-cop11-pac

CMS Family Manual

E-community