The
Secretariat would like to seek initial offers to host the
10th Meeting of the CMS Conference of Parties in 2011. Unlike
other Conventions, CMS has in the past usually agreed the
venue of the next CoP through an inter-sessional process
following the previous CoP. However this is time-consuming
and lengthens the period of uncertainty about the venue
and associated costs. Several other MEAs, such as CBD, normally
agree on the venue of the next CoP during the CoP that immediately
precedes it. The CMS Secretariat believes that the Convention
now has a sufficient membership (110 Parties) to adopt a
similar process.
CoP 10 will be due in the period
October - December 2011. By then CMS is expecting to have
120 Parties. Total attendance including observers is estimated
at about 750-800. The normal cycle for CMS CoP meetings
is a two-day Scientific Council, followed by a further two-day
period (which can be a weekend) during which a Standing
Committee is held and side meetings convened (including
possible MoPs of species agreements) and the ScC Report
prepared. The next 5 days are allocated to the CoP itself.
Other meetings including species agreement MoPs can also
be added before or after this 9 day “core period”.
Any country willing to offer to host the meetings will at
the very least have to meet the costs of the CoP itself
and make a considerable contribution towards its organisation.
Responsibility for the subsidiary events (Standing Committee,
Scientific Council and species agreement MoPs etc) can be
subject to negotiation with the Secretariat.
All offers for venues in Party states
should be submitted to the CMS Secretariat through the Party
focal point for CMS. Any non-Party state interested in offering
to host the CoP, should initially contact the Secretariat
direct.
Any formal offer received by the
time of the Conference will be considered under Item 27
of the provisional Agenda
at CoP9 (click here) in December 2008.
The Secretariat remains available
to advise and provide further detailed information to anyone
who is thinking of submitting an offer to host CoP 10.
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