A/RES/61/204 regime, as well as the decision of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to complete the work of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group at the earliest possible time, before the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to be held in 2010, 9 and urges parties to make every effort to complete the work within the established time frame; 8. Reaffirms the commitment, subject to national legislation, to respect, preserve and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization; Notes the progress made in the thematic programmes of work of the 9. Convention on Biological Diversity; 10. Notes also the progress made at the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the continuing efforts made towards the implementation of the Protocol, and stresses that this will require the full support of parties and of relevant international organizations, in particular with regard to the provision of assistance to developing countries, as well as countries with economies in transition, in capacity-building for biosafety; 11. Takes note with appreciation of the outcome of the fourth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility, 10 including the pledges made by the international community to the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, at the third Global Environment Facility Assembly, held in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2006, and stresses the importance of fulfilment of the commitments; 12. Invites the countries that have not yet done so to ratify or to accede to the Convention; 13. Invites the parties to the Convention that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to consider doing so; 14. Invites countries to consider ratifying or acceding to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; 11 15. Encourages developed countries parties to the Convention to contribute to the relevant trust funds of the Convention, in particular so as to enhance the full participation of the developing countries parties in all of its activities; 16. Urges parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to facilitate the transfer of technology for the effective implementation of the Convention in accordance with its provisions; 17. Takes note of the ongoing work of the liaison group of the secretariats and offices of the relevant subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 12 the United Nations Convention to Combat _______________ 9 UNEP/CBD/COP/8/31, annex I, decision VIII/4A. Global Environment Facility, document GEF/A.3/6. Available from www.gefweb.org. 11 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Report of the Conference of FAO, Thirty-first Session, Rome, 2-13 November 2001 (C 2001/REP), appendix D. 12 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1771, No. 30822. 10 3