Building National Capacity for Biodiversity Information Management for Liberia’s CHM By: J. S. Datuama Cammue Focal Point CHM

Background The CHM set up in 2011 as the hub biodiversity information management under the implementation strategy of the NBSAP Website was set up and 16 national cadres, editors and administrators trained Training done by the Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences.

Institutional Arrangement EPA in charge of MEAs operation; The CBD Coordination unit within Division of MEAs responsible for CHM ; CHM focal point working with national cadres responsible to run the CHM; The CHM focal point report to the national focal point –CBD; CBD focal point coordinates through the MEAs Coordinator and the office of the Executive Director of the EPA is over all head;

OPERATION OF CHM CHM got on a good note and later faced challenges ( slowing down operation); The annexation of the web to the central EPA system. Funding was the real cause (slow down) Operation went in active because stakeholders do not have access to the web;

programmes of Action Liberia has revised its NBSAP; Communication and resource mobilization strategy and financial mechanism are integral part of the new programmes which were lacking in the first NBSAP; The CHM is the nerve center of biodiversity information management under the National strategic plan for ;

Biodiversity Information management A comprehensive communication strategy built around the CHM; financial and resource mobilization defining how to go exist; Biodiversity related institutions are obliged to support the web through budgetary allocations; Our initial challenge is putting into action the communication strategy which the CHM is the hub ; Making CHM full time is immediate priority;

Over-coming Resolving financial resources needed; partnership/exchange of personnel countries with success story like French speaking Africa is one way; This will help overcome problem and promote sustained biodiversity information management through the CHM;

Sustaining the CHM We see the Belgium Technical Cooperation assistance programme as an asset; Our participation in this forum is therefore treated as very important in the process and we went at great length to ensure our participation here.

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