As a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Malaysia will send a delegation to attend the 14th Conference on Parties (COP) taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from the 17th to the 29th of November 2018. For the past 2 years since COP 13 in Cancun, Malaysia has also played the role of chair to the Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC); a group of 20 countries that share similar concerns on biological diversity.

Thus, to kick-start discussions in preparation to the two important meetings, the Biodiversity and Forestry Management Division (BBP), KATS have organized a priority setting workshop. The workshop was attended by over 40 representatives from various ministries, agencies and departments including (but not limited to) the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Energy, Science, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries (MoA) and Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC).

The representatives were divided into 4 major groups:

1. Living Modified Organisms, Synthetic Biology, Genetically Modified Organisms
2. Protected Areas, Wildlife Management, Marine and Coastal Ecosystems
3. Invasive Alien Species and Pollinators
4. Aichi Targets, Climate Change and Mainstreaming