Notification 2013-118

Dear Madam/Sir, As you will be aware, a fully functional Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House (ABS Clearing-House) is of paramount importance for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 16, which provides that by 2015, the Nagoya Protocol is in force and operational, consistent with national legislation. Against this background and in order to test the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House and conduct hands-on training for making use of the ABS Clearing-House, I am pleased to inform you that, thanks to the generous contribution of the European Union and the Government of Norway, a capacity-building workshop on the ABS Clearing-House will be held on 23 February 2014 in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, back-to-back with the third meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (the Intergovernmental Committee). The workshop is being convened upon the advice of the informal advisory committee to the pilot phase of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House. The outcomes of this workshop will be made available to the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee. A draft programme containing the objectives and methodology of the workshop is attached for your information and is available on the Secretariat website at the following address: www.cbd.int/icnp3/workshop. Interpretation in English, French and Spanish will be provided. In order to enable hands-on training during the workshop for the submission of national information, participants are highly encouraged to bring their own computer and national information on the following topics, if available: a. National focal points; b. Competent national authorities; c. Legislative, administrative and policy measures on access and benefit-sharing; d. Permits or their equivalent; and e. Checkpoints. Nomination of funded participants Officially designated representatives of Parties to the Convention and representatives from indigenous and local communities selected to receive financial support to participate in the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee will also be funded to participate in the capacity-building workshop and should therefore indicate their interest in participating in the workshop through an official nomination to the Secretariat by 17 January 2014 in order to enable the Secretariat to arrange their travel accordingly. Please note that the Secretariat will only finance the participation of one representative to attend both the capacity-building workshop and the Intergovernmental Committee meeting. Nomination of non-funded participants Designation of representatives of Parties to the Convention, indigenous and local communities, international organizations and relevant stakeholders to attend the workshop should be submitted by 31 January 2014. All nominations should be submitted through an official letter addressed to the Executive Secretary by fax to +1 514 288 6588, or by e-mail as a scanned attachment to: secretariat@cbd.int. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. Capacity-building Workshop on the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House Alpensia Convention Center Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea – 23 February 2014 DRAFT PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION Article 14 of the Nagoya Protocol establishes an Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) Clearing-House. The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol recommended that the ABS Clearing-House be implemented in a phased manner. The Executive Secretary is currently implementing the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House according to the following guidance: (a) Guidance of the Intergovernmental Committee provided in the annex to recommendation 1/1 and in recommendation 2/4; (b) The indicative work plan and timeline for activities to take place until the first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, as contained in document UNEP/CBD/COP/11/11 and endorsed by the Conference of the Parties; and (c) Technical guidance with respect to the resolution of technical issues as provided by the informal advisory committee. Having a fully functional ABS Clearing-House by the time of entry into force of the Protocol is essential for the operationalization of the Protocol. The ABS Clearing-House facilitates the exchange of information on access and benefit-sharing, plays a key role in enhancing legal certainty and transparency and promotes compliance with the Protocol. Testing the system and receiving feedback from Parties, indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders is of key importance for having an information-sharing mechanism that adapts to the needs of users and to national circumstances and that effectively contributes to the implementation of the Protocol. Also, having a fully functional ABS Clearing-House which includes available national information will significantly contribute to achieving Aichi Target 16: “By 2015, the Nagoya Protocol is in force and operational, consistent with national legislation”. OBJECTIVES The capacity-building workshop on the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House has the following objectives: • Improving understanding of the ABS Clearing-House and its potential for supporting implementation of the Protocol; • Enabling active participation of Parties by building capacity to submit national information, in particular for those countries that have already ratified the Protocol; • Enhancing capacity to make use of the tools available through the ABS Clearing-House and heightening awareness of how these tools can support Parties, indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders in their work; • Enabling the provision of feedback on the development of the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House. The feedback provided will contribute to making the ABS Clearing-House more effective and user-friendly for Parties. DRAFT PROGRAMME AND METHODOLOGY The workshop will be held on Sunday 23 February 2014 from 9.00 to 17.00 with a pause for lunch and two coffee breaks. 1. Opening of the workshop The Secretariat of CBD will provide an introduction to the workshop, including the methodology and organization of work. 2. Overview of the functions and proposed modalities of operation for the ABS Clearing-House Participants will be introduced to the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House. This would include an introduction to the registering and searching functions, the proposed modalities of operation, including the different user roles (publishing authority and national authorised users) and types of records (national and reference records). 3. Testing of the pilot-phase of the ABS Clearing-House The Secretariat will introduce each of following common formats for registering information: (a) National focal points and/or publishing authorities; (b) Competent national authorities; (c) Legislative, administrative and policy measures on access and benefit-sharing; (d) Permits or their equivalent constituting an internationally recognized certificate of compliance; (e) Checkpoints; (f) Checkpoint communiqué; and (g) Virtual library. Following each presentation, participants will be invited to undertake hands-on training for registering their national information as test records. For this exercise, it is recommended that participants bring existing national information relevant to the common formats listed above. This would allow testing of the system and common formats as well as building the capacity of the participants to register information in the ABS Clearing-House. In order for participants to take part in this hands-on training it is very important that each participant bring a computer. The Secretariat will be available to answer any questions participants may have during the registration of the information. For the purpose of the workshop, a sand-box version of the ABS Clearing-House will be developed. The records registered during the workshop in the sand-box are only for testing and hand-on training purposes and do not have any official status. . 4. Provision of feedback on the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House Participants will be invited to provide feedback, both through a structured questionnaire and through a general discussion. 5. Closure of the workshop The workshop will close at 5 p.m.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD National Focal Points, ICNP Focal Points, indigenous and local community organizations, international organizations, and relevant stakeholders