European Environment Agency 11-12 November 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark The Biodiversity Clearing-House Mechanisms in Europe in 2010 - International Year of Biodiversity European Environment Agency 11-12 November 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark The Clearing-House Mechanism: Update and Lessons Learned Olivier de Munck (olivier.demunck@cbd.int) CHM Programme Officer, CBD Secretariat

Content Background COP 9 Current Work Lessons Learned Final Comments

What is the Clearing-House Mechanism? Information exchange platform of the CBD Created to promote scientific and technical cooperation (established in accordance with Art. 18.3) The COP, at its first meeting, shall determine how to establish a clearing-house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation 3 Strategic Goals Facilitate technical and scientific cooperation Promote information exchange Develop a network of partners Evolved into a global network of websites consisting of: National CHMs Partner organizations CBD website 

COP Decisions on CHM CHM implementation guided by decisions of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP) Overview of COP Decisions on CHM I/3 Establishment of the CHM II/3 Pilot Phase & CHM NFP (before Feb. 1996!) III/4 Technical Guidance, Funding & CHM-IAC IV/2 Technical Guidance, Funding & Request Review V/14 CHM Strategic Plan & Longer-Term Prog. of Work VI/18 Technical Guidance, Use & Request 2nd Review VII/23 Technical Guidance & CHM-IAC Procedures VIII/11 Updated Strategic Plan 2005-2010 and Programme of Work IX/30 Technical Guidance for Enhancing Implementation (National, Regional & Central CHM) 

COP 9 - CHM Decision IX/30 Based on draft decision in document UNEP/CBD/COP/9/23 Objective: Enhance implementation despite limited resources Available on-line at www.cbd.int/decisions/?dec=IX/30 Guidance at all levels Paragraph 2 for Parties Paragraph 3 for Partners Paragraph 4 for Donors Paragraph 5 for Financial Mechanism (GEF) Paragraph 6 for Executive Secretary (SCBD) 

Decision IX/30 for Parties 10 points to encourage Parties to establish strong and sustainable national CHM: Designate a CHM NFP (decision II/3) with appropriate expertise Prepare a CHM implementation strategy as an NBSAP component Develop the CHM for NBSAP implementation and review Develop links between the CHM and existing networks, and exchange mechanisms with national databases Establish a national coordination structure for the CHM Mobilize and allocate resources to implement and sustain the CHM Define roles and responsibilities for information and website management Identify national information sources and promote them, starting with contacts and biodiversity information Use of the CHM as a public outreach and dialogue tool make the CHM website available in national or local languages 

Decision IX/30 for Partners 3 points to encourage partners holding biodiversity-related information to: Designate an appropriate technical contact or focal point Investigate ways to make their information accessible through the CHM Contribute to the establishment of regional or thematic CHM: - to provide support to national CHM - to share knowledge - to facilitate scientific and technical cooperation 

Decision IX/30 for Donors & GEF 2 paragraphs to request resources for developing countries Invites Parties and other donors to provide resources to enable developing country Parties to carry out the above activities Urges the Global Environment Facility and other donors to continue to provide funding to developing country Parties for the establishment and maintenance of their CHM 

Decision IX/30 for SCBD (1/2) 11 points for SCBD: 5 to strengthen the central CHM (a to f) 6 on support support and collaboration (g to k) Gradually build a knowledge base on references and other information Provide collaboration tools to enable Parties to maintain contact, share ideas and brainstorm on implementation Provide an analysis about a potential on-line submission system for sharing knowledge and experiences, and develop a prototype for review and comments Establish common formats and vocabularies Strengthen the Secretariat's capacity in areas related to the CHM (information technology, website, knowledge management and other modern information services) Improve the Convention's website, its accessibility, and make this website available in all United Nations languages 

Decision IX/30 for SCBD (2/2) 11 points for SCBD: 5 to strengthen the central CHM (a to f) 6 on support support and collaboration (g to k) Provide guidance and support to Parties to assist in the establishment of their national CHM, including through national and regional organizations, and based on the special capacity-building needs of developing countries Further collaborate with key partner organizations (MEA. GBIF, UNEP, Regional, Tech-Transfer, 2010 Indicators, CEPA) Take into account the IYB strategy (decision IX/33) when developing CHM services Consider the role of the CHM in analyses prepared for revisions to the Strategic Plan beyond 2010 Facilitate cooperation between the CHM-IAC and the CEPA-IAC in order to further develop the CHM as a tool for CEPA 

Current Work Website Maintenance and Development Daily updates, maintenance & other web related requests Development of various web portals (2010 IYB, LifeWeb, GreenWave, Fourth National Reports, Meetings) Improving web page translation system Development of an on-line systems Knowledge and Information Management KB design with an advanced search engine Research on standards and common formats Review of contact information and web links CHM Network & Partners ASEAN Regional CHM workshop & UNEP KM MEA workshop IYB Guidelines for CHM NFP: www.cbd.int/2010/chm Questionnaire for CHM NFP: www.cbd.int/chm/survey Review of CHM websites 

Lessons Learned (1/3) Lessons learned in several areas: Resource Management Knowledge and Information Management Website High-level commitment and support is a key success factor at all levels (national, regional, partners, SCBD). Appropriate human resources are always the ultimate determining factor for succesful implementation (even with available funding). SCBD has limited resources to implement IX/30. Some Parties may be in a similar situation. 

Lessons Learned (2/3) Knowledge and Information Management (KM & IM) There may be a big difference between a recommended KM strategy document and what could realistically be implemented. Both KM and IM require appropriate institutional and operational arrangements. Well-defined procedures, terminology and other standards are needed for successful KM & IM. Be selective and professional in compiling and preparing content. Irrelevant content is a waste for both the producer and the future users. Web 2.0 services provide an excellent supporting infrastructure for collaboration and information exchange (eg. Google Data API, Atom Feeds, OpenSearch). The CHM should make specific recommendations on how to use these services for exchanging information and knowledge. A lot of explicit knowledge sharing can be achieved through simple information types (contacts, references, projects, facts, links, events). 

Lessons Learned (3/3) Website Think carefully about the website structure. Visual appearance matters. - Modern website design tend to be very clean and attractive. - use pictures, videos (on YouTube) and Maps (Google Maps) Quick navigation matters. Provide only a few pages with key services. Avoid lengthly menus and eliminate pages with little added values. Use a good well-known CMS with extensions and multilingual support. The Search Engine is important, but the presentation of results is also important. Google is powerful but has its limits (no internal DB search and raw output). The Google AJAX Search API can help. Simple user account creation and profile management is important. Translation is always a challenge. 

Thank you Final Comments The EEA is a very important partner for the CBD, and particularly for the CHM This European CHM workshop is a great opportunity to: Share views, experiences and feedback among CHM NFPs. Propose tools and solutions that can benefit the whole CHM network Get ready for the CHM contribution to 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity Please send any question or comment to chm@cbd.int  Thank you

European Environment Agency 11-12 November 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark The Biodiversity Clearing-House Mechanisms in Europe in 2010 - International Year of Biodiversity European Environment Agency 11-12 November 2009 Copenhagen, Denmark The Clearing-House Mechanism: COP 9 Update and Lessons Learned Olivier de Munck (olivier.demunck@cbd.int) CHM Programme Officer, CBD Secretariat