NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CLEARING HOUSE MECHANISM CHM-KENYA NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY(NEMA)

Introduction Ministry of Environment Water and Natural Resources is the National Focal Point for Convention on Biological Diversity The Ministry is spearheading the revision of National Biodiversity and Action Plan (NBSAP) NBSAP was first produced in 1999

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is the was designated national CHM Contact person is Director General Prof. Geoffrey Wahungu Desk office is Mr. Joseph Masinde

NEMA, a Parastatal under the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources is charged with coordinating implementation of policies related to Environment which include Multilateral Environmental Agreements. NEMA houses the National Clearing House Mechanism: – Coordinating biodiversity activities; access and benefit sharing NEMA has developed Biodiversity regulations and benefit Sharing NEMA has developed procedures of accessing genetic resources

Clearing House Mechanism In practice, the CHM involves a National Committee draws its members from relevant Institutions. The same committee is the one spearheading the process of revising the NBSAP

Current Situation CHM Website CHM website is intergrated within the NEMA website CHM website are mainly used for information dissemination National biodiversity strategy and action plan is available on this website What is available of the website is mainly documents

Challenges Lack of specialized human skills. Data sharing is limited. Information is power Inadequate ICT infrastructure, including lack of GIS facilities in most national institutions and poor maintenance of existing ICT facilities. Lack of policies and standards on information management. In particular, lack of information and data exchange policy at both institutional and national levels. The marine biodiversity is not well studied (thus limited content).

Challenges Existing data is dispersed in several institutions and most often is not available at the national level. Lack of financial and logistical resources in the existing facilities. Poor dissemination and marketing of environmental data and information. Lack of sustainable programmes.

Challenges Inadequate commitment of stakeholders. Lack of harmonisation of indicators / indices / parameters / units of measurement and methodology. Inadequate co-ordination, networking and collaboration among various institutions. Inadequate capacity to analyze the collected data into useful information applicable in decision making processes.

CHM website On going Project Assist NEMA in establishing an enhanced regulatory and information systems for Integrated Implementation of Multilateral Environment Agreements (UNEP GEF Project)

Consultants have reports on Develop the conceptual design for the IIMS – Identify essential data sets required by the conventions (primarily CBD cluster, UNFCCC, POPs, UNCCD) Develop and agree on data management protocol among stakeholders with clear responsibilities, reporting lines and feedback Conduct comparative review of reporting requirements for the four conventions (CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, POPs) Review existing CHMs for biodiversity, Biosafety, GPA and others and advise on enhancing these systems NEMA is developing a web based information system for MEAs which will include a comprehensive CHM for Biodiversity carry out a training

Features in the CHM system: Advanced site search with drop down menus, check boxes, radio buttons, period based video, photo and audio gallery A forum (s) designated for particular topic of discussion Allow for ease of web site content management Initiate chat conversations with any end-user logged in to the network

Support to Kenya for the Revision of the NBSAPs and Development of Fifth National Report to the CBD The main objective of this project is to enable Kenya to revise its National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and to develop the Fifth National Report to the CBD Outputs include: National Coordination Structures: Operational BD Coordination structures. CHMs: National CHM Operational Through its MEAs website, NEMA will ensure that the CHM is active and is used by all stakeholders as a clearing mechanism to keep stakeholders updated and to receive information from the stakeholders.

Operational CHM Consultant work In line with the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Kenyan Constitution, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and Vision 2030, the consultant will : Evaluate the effectiveness of the current CHM infrastructure (policy, technical and human) in providing an information exchange service for biodiversity in Kenya. Review the institutional capacity to sustain an effective central clearing-house mechanism. Review the operations and functionality of the current and define gaps in line with guidance from the Convention (decision UNEP/CBD/COP/10/15)

Operational CHM Consultant work Evaluate the quality of the website as a communication tool for the key stakeholders. Identify key challenges in the policy, technical, technological, human and financial resources. Undertake a stakeholder analysis and make recommendations on strategic governance structure to enhance the operations of the CHM. Review key stakeholders capacity, needs and opportunities for establishing an operational CHM. Make recommendations on the appropriate CHM infrastructure linked to the CBD secretariat to support national information exchange, implementation of the NBSAP, facilitate national reporting and monitoring of the targets of the Strategic Plan of the Convention.

NBSAP Process Held the inception workshop Formation of the thematic groups The thematic groups will meet at end of May More work will be done in the next fanacial year starting July. There has been delays in disbursing funds from treasury

Other initiatives Under the Education for Sustainable Development program, to promote networking among stakeholders, Regional Centers of Expertise have been formed comprising of climate change and biodiversity groups GIS Lab was established at NEMA Formulation of a policy on environmental Information and Networking Reporting on the performance contracting

Strategic vision Challenges No new updates for several months/years. As a result, the content is inappropriate or not useful. Lack of incentives or obligatory mechanisms for collaborating institutions to update the website. ICT capacity problems in collaborating institutions, including Internet access and required skills to access. Inadequate funding No clear institutional structure for administering and managing the websites. Un aware of CHM Services

Strategies to overcome the challenges and support implementation of NBSAP Increased collaboration among partners and stakeholders. Raised awareness on biodiversity issues and CHM services.

Strategies to overcome the challenges and support implementation of NBSAP Good and functional equipment hardware and software requirements for all the data custodians (computers, plotters, scanners, printers, GPS, etc.). Reliable internet access (preferably 24/7) with appropriate bandwidth.

Strategies to overcome the challenges and support implementation of NBSAP Organize awareness campaigns, workshops or seminars for policy makers and new and existing users. Wide distribution of promotional materials, e.g. leaflets, CDs, brochures, posters.

exchange of information CHM Media Government Learning Institutions Private Sector Communities Civil Society Org

Conclusion The successful use of CHM depends to a large extent on a supportive policy environment at the national level The Policy should address: Preparing all sectors of the to understand, accept the investment in and value of technology use ICT as a tool and medium Developing and managing content Planning for continues evaluation and research Providing ongoing technical support Developing partnerships and Networks

Parting Note In Kenya the continued expansion of networks technologies, bandwidth, and computer capacity, coupled with increasing user familiarity with the tools, social networking applications, and the acceptance of innovative methods in the Biodiversity conservation management offer new and exciting new possibilities for CHM development.