1. Jamaica Clearing-House Mechanism (JA-CHM)
(Clearing House of Clearing House)
Sean Townsend
SRO-Ja-CHM
Natural History Division
Institute of Jamaica

2. Clearing House?
The term "clearing-house" originally referred to a financial establishment where checks and bills are exchanged among member banks so that only the net balances need to be settled in cash. Today, its meaning has been extended to include any agency that brings together seekers and providers of goods, services or information, thus matching demand with supply.

3. Overview
The Jamaica Clearing-House Mechanism (JA-CHM) is a national network that gathers and distributes information on biological diversity via the internet.
It facilitates access to and the exchange of information in an efficient, transparent and coordinated manner.
The CHM was established as one of the activities of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Jamaica ratified the Convention in 1995 and the Natural History Division of the Institute of Jamaica was appointed the National Focal Point for the JA-CHM 1999.
The CHM presently houses the portals for biodiversity as well as biosafety.

4. Mission Statement
The CHM in accordance with Article 18, section 3, has been set up to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation in support of the CBD and its three objectives:
The conservation of biological diversity,
The sustainable use of its components,
The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.  

5. Goals
The CHM has three goals, all of which are necessary for achieving the objectives of the Convention:
Cooperation. Promotion and facilitation of scientific and technical cooperation.
Information Exchange. Development of a global mechanism for exchanging and integrating information on biodiversity.
Network Development. Development of the CHM Focal Points and their partners. 

6. Role
“Clearing-House Mechanism" ensure that all governments as well as the general public have access to the information and technologies they need for their work on biodiversity. This faciltated by the establishment of databases that can be accessed traditionally of electronically
The CHM facilitates access to and the exchange of biodiversity information around the world.  The CHM is being developed to meet the genuine needs of its users by learning from their experience and using available resources.  It depends on a decentralized  process to gather and organize the data that its users need. Driving this process are networks or focal points which encourage networking among government agencies,  non-governmental organizations and private enterprise at all levels.

7. Main Characteristics of any CHM
Compatible with different levels of national capacity
Needs-driven
Structurally decentralized
Provides access to information
Supports decision-making
Has no vested interest in controlling the expertise or information
Created for the mutual benefit of all Parties and other stakeholders

8. Region Total countries CBD Parties 53 52 56 54 23 33 31 28 196 190
Africa 53 52
Asia and the Pacific 56 54
Central and Eastern Europe 23
Latin America and the Caribbean 33
Western European and Others 31 28
Totals
196
190

9. Convention on Biological Diversity
Secretariat CBD
Informal Advisory Committee (IAC)
CHM Steering Committee
Clearing-House Mechanism
Electronic Media
Websites
Database
Interactive Maps
Scientific & Technical Cooperation
(Network of Users)
Print & Traditional
Brochures
Posters
Facts Sheets
CDs
Maps

10. Website

16. Products of the JA-CHM Presentations Posters Brochures Fact Sheets
Biodiversity Maps

17. Posters

18. MAPS

21. THANK YOU