The seventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABSWG-7) will be held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, from 2-8 April 2009.

The provisional agenda of the meeting is attached for your information and is available on the Secretariat’s web site at: http://www.cbd.int/notifications. Other documents for the meeting will be made available no later than sixty days prior to the meeting.

The information note for participants will be made available as soon as practicable on the CBD web site at the following address: http://www.cbd.int/meetings/. In accordance with paragraphs 5 and 7 of decision IX/12 of the Conference of the Parties, the meeting will be held over the duration of seven consecutive days and will be preceded by two days of regional and interregional consultations, on 31 March and 1 April 2009. (Pan African Workshop on ABS&Forests)