South Africa has for the first time been elected to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (CoP) bureau, strengthening the country’s status as a global player in the biodiversity field, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) reported on Wednesday.

South Africa had been elected, alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, to represent Africa on the bureau, which also included representatives from eight other countries in the remaining four UN regions.

The chosen bureau members would remain in office for two years following the close of the twelfth CBD CoP meeting, currently being held in Korea until October 17.

The DEA explained that the bureau provided overall strategic guidance to the CoP secretariat with regard to the effective functioning of its meetings. The department noted that the CoP was the main decision-making body of the CBD, which was one of the three Rio Conventions alongside the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the Effects of Drought, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“The CoP reviews implementation of the convention, establishes relevant subsidiary bodies, adopts work programmes for the achievement of its objectives, provides policy guidance and strengthens synergies with other relevant conventions,” the DEA said in a statement.

The department stated that the election of South Africa to the bureau came with a huge responsibility relating to the need to provide leadership in Africa in respect of the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011 to 2020 and achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as the implementation of the CBD’s two protocols – the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.

South Africa would also at the twelfth CoP hand over the chairpersonship of the Group of Like-minded Megadiverse Countries to Guatemala, the DEA added.