(Agenda item 8 (a))

Conclusions

At its 5 th meeting, on 15 June, having considered a proposal by the Chairman, the SBSTA adopted the following conclusions:

(a) The SBSTA took note with appreciation of document FCCC/SBSTA/2000/3. The secretariat was requested to issue a corrigendum to this document to correctly reflect data submitted by New Zealand;

(b) The SBSTA expressed its appreciation to the IPCC for the preparation of the Special Report on Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, for the IPCC special side event on the report, and for the input of the IPCC authors during the pre-sessional week of informal meetings. It requested the secretariat to explore, in collaboration with the IPCC, the possibility of organizing a special briefing on Sunday, 9 July 2000 for non-Annex I Parties participating in the SBSTA workshop in Poznan, Poland;

(c) With reference to the request made by the SBSTA at its eleventh session for submissions on additional activities under Article 3.4 (FCCC/SBSTA/1999/14, para. 46 (f) and (i)), having given initial consideration to criteria and guiding principles put forward by Parties, the SBSTA further requested Parties to indicate how the proposed additional activities relate to the objective and principles of the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol;

(d) The SBSTA agreed to a format for the submission of the country-specific data and information by Annex I Parties (see annex II to this report) called for by the SBSTA at its eleventh session (FCCC/SBSTA/1999/14, para. 46 (g), (h), (i), (j)). It requested Parties to provide their submissions no later than the deadline of 1 August 2000. The formats, and the data and information that will be submitted, by no means prejudge decisions or conclusions that may be made by either the COP or the SBSTA at future sessions. In their submissions, Annex I Parties should complete those portions of tables I and III that directly relate to their preferred proposals. Furthermore, Annex I Parties may provide data and information in relation to other options using tables I and III. The SBSTA decided to consider this data and information at its thirteenth session, in the light of document FCCC/SBSTA/1999/14, paragraph 46 (g), (i) and (k);

(e) The SBSTA requested Parties, in preparing the above-mentioned submissions, to provide textual proposals on Article 3.3, 3.4 and 3.7, and explanatory material to provide the context and rationale of these textual proposals. It invited Parties to take into consideration the guidance given to the Chairman, under subparagraph 32 (f) below, in preparing their submissions;

(f) Considering decision 16/CP.5, the SBSTA requested the Chairman to prepare, with the help of the secretariat, a consolidated synthesis of textual proposals from the above-mentioned submissions, for consideration by Parties at its thirteenth session. This synthesis would be structured according to the elements outlined below:

(i) Proposed definitions and accounting approaches related to afforestation, reforestation and deforestation under Article 3.3;

(ii) How and which additional human-induced activities might be included under Article 3.4, including modalities, rules and guidelines related to these activities and their accounting;

(iii) Methodologies for measuring and reporting in relation to Article 3.3 and 3.4 activities;

(iv) Overall accounting approaches in relation to requirements of Article 3.3, 3.4 and 3.7 and regarding, inter alia, reversibility, natural effects, and accounting interlinkages;

(v) Other;

(g) The SBSTA encouraged the organization of regional workshops to enhance participation in future land-use, land-use change and forestry meetings;

(h) The SBSTA invited the Chairman to convene an inter-sessional consultation after its thirteenth session (11-15 September 2000) to assist in undertaking preparatory work for consideration by the COP at its sixth session in relation to decision 16/CP.5, taking into account the need for transparency and regional balance in representation at that meeting;

(i) The SBSTA noted the circumstances surrounding the issues of land-use, land-use change and forestry, particularly the recent availability of the IPCC Special Report and the deadline for submissions on 1 August 2000. The SBSTA recognized that documents for the next sessions may only be available immediately prior to the sessions. It urged Parties to accelerate their consideration of the issue, including the IPCC report, and requested the Chairman to consult widely on the issue.