The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) requested the secretariat to organize meetings of technical experts on methodological issues referred to in document FCCC/SBSTA/2011/2, paragraphs 28 and 29, including a meeting before its thirty-fifth session. The first of these meetings, on guidance on systems for providing information on how the safeguards for REDD-plus activities are addressed and respected, took place in Panama City, Panama, from 8 to 9 October 2011. The discussions focused on the sharing of experiences and lessons learned from developing countries implementing REDD-plus activities and their efforts to implement safeguards through existing systems, and on how information on safeguards is being provided. Experts exchanged views on the principles, characteristics and design of such information systems and the potential channels for the provision of information. Experts identified elements that could be included in a draft decision on guidance on systems for providing information on how the safeguards for REDD-plus activities are addressed and respected that could be forwarded by the SBSTA to the Conference of the Parties for adoption at its seventeenth session