Don't know your MOP from your COP? You're not alone. United Nations conferences are awash with organizational and procedural monikers containing more letters than a Welsh train station sign.

The following is a primer on COP10 acronyms; learn them all and you just might be awarded a coveted position with the U.N. CBD COP SBSTTA (Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, an advisory group assisting the biodiversity convention).

ABS