The first meeting of the EE Committee (February 16-18) requested its Chair and Vice-chair to send a letter to all national focal points of the Convention to reiterate the COP-7 request for the submission of outstanding third national reports, a key information basis for the successful completion of the Committee’s work.
Reports submitted by April 30th can still be taken into account in the Committee’s review of the effectiveness of the Convention. The Committee had a successful first meeting, reviewing a preliminary assessment document prepared by the secretariat, and noting the critical importance of additional sources of data before drawing conclusions and making recommendations on whether the Convention is achieving its objective. The Committee also charted a path forward to its next meeting in October 2016 and COP-8. The report will be available on the website shortly.