Module 4 Partnering and funding opportunities

This module discusses partnering opportunities and funding to assist in the establishment of a national CHM website.

Partnering and Funding Opportunities

Regions with inequitable access to new information technologies and to technical expertise have access to partnering and funding opportunities for support in the development and implementation of a national CHM website.

Belgian Partnering Role Programme

For example, in the Belgian Partnering Role programme http://bch-cbd.naturalsciences.be/belgium/partner.htm, the Belgian CHM national focal point assists Parties with poor access to new information technologies to use web-based technologies in an effort to support CHM activities. This assistance includes: 1. developing and hosting national CHM websites, and 2. organizing training courses for webmasters of partner countries.

This partnering continues until the partner country has the necessary financial, physical and human resources to host and manage its website on its own national Internet server.

The Belgian Partnering Role programme started in 1998 with a request from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to create and host their national CHM website. To date, the Belgian CHM has established successful partnerships with many other countries.

In summary, the Belgian CHM can:

  • Host the website of the partner country. The partner assumes full responsibility for the development and management of the website;
  • Develop and host a standardized website for the partner country. The partner country supplies the needed information content;
  • Give advice to partner countries on the content and technical development of the website;
  • Host mirror sites of the partner website;
  • Organize personalized training courses for webmasters (Participants learn how to build an Internet-based clearing-house and present the most relevant biodiversity-related information).

For more information, please see the address below:

Partnering role for the Clearing-House Mechanism
Belgian National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Rue Vautier 29
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: 32 2 627 43 43
Fax: 32 2 627 41 41
Email: cbd-chm@naturalsciences.be
Website: http://bch-cbd.naturalsciences.be/belgium/partner.htm