Scientific and technical cooperation and the clearing-house mechanism

Objective

Activities

Goal 1: The clearing-house mechanism is promoting and facilitating technical and scientific cooperation

1.1. The clearing-house mechanism contributes to the implementation of the Convention and particularly the achievement of the 2010 target

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

1.1.1. Organize joint technical hands-on workshops with partners and international thematic focal points on new information and web-based technologies to assist in the implementation of the Convention, taking into account the special needs of indigenous and local communities

1.1.2. Invite programme officers and other experts to participate in clearing-house mechanism workshops to better integrate the work of clearing-house mechanisms with work related to implementation of the Convention

1.1.3. Invite Parties to contribute technical expertise to technical workshops and training courses

1.1.4 Develop collaborative tools and systems, including web-based systems and in particular the island biological diversity portal, to assist Parties in the implementation of cooperative activities and work

1.1.5 Make available the issue-based modules for coherent implementation of biodiversity-related conventions prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity

1.1.6 Work with partners to develop tools to analyse information concurrently from the national reports of the biodiversity-related and Rio conventions

1.1.7 Participate in activities related to the World Summit on the Information Society

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

1.1.8 Identify and implement opportunities to facilitate scientific and technical cooperation that will enhance the capacity to implement priority actions in national biodiversity strategies and action plans

1.2. The clearing-house mechanism facilitates the transfer of technology and technology cooperation

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

1.2.1 Assist Parties and other Governments in the use of new information technologies and traditional technologies to promote transfer of technologies

1.2.2 Promote technology transfer through participation in trade fairs, conferences, workshops, and other technology-related events

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

1.2.3 Identify and implement opportunities to facilitate the transfer of technology that is needed to implement priority actions in national biodiversity strategies and action plans

1.3. The clearing-house mechanism facilitates cooperation among the three Rio Conventions and other environmental agreements, organizations and initiatives

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

1.3.1 Establish a technical working group among the Rio and other environmental conventions and develop electronic tools to facilitate communication and work

1.3.2 Publish technical specifications through the CHM Toolkit to assist in making electronic information from the Rio and other environmental conventions interoperable

Goal 2: The clearing-house mechanism is promoting and facilitating the exchange of information among Parties, other Governments and stakeholders

2.1. The clearing-house mechanism makes information related to the Convention and Convention processes available via electronic and traditional means

Actions by the CBD and national clearing-house mechanisms

2.1.1 Invest in the development of, and use, new information exchange tools and technologies to make Convention-related information accessible

2.1.2 Invest in the use of traditional information dissemination tools to ensure equitable access to Convention-related information

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

2.1.3 National clearing-house mechanisms make available information on activities undertaken to implement the Convention as appropriate

2.2. In collaboration with other relevant initiatives, organizations and partners, the clearing-house mechanism facilitates the access to and repatriation of information on biodiversity

Actions by the CBD and national clearing-house mechanisms

2.2.1 In collaboration with other relevant initiatives, organizations and partners, publish information through the clearing-house mechanism on projects digitizing observational data and natural history collections of specimen data

2.2.2 Support the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and other initiatives that promote open access to digitized observational data and specimen data in natural history collections and the development of open distributed networks of data

2.2.3 Promote participation in projects aiming to enhance national capacities to digitize, access and use electronic observational data and specimen data from natural history collections, and the publication of their results

2.2.4 Collaborate with relevant partners, academic and research institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to facilitate access to relevant data and information, such as observational, environmental, geospatial and scientific literature

2.3. The clearing-house mechanism assists Parties and other Governments and relevant organizations in making data and information available in support of activities related to the implementation of the Convention and the achievement of the 2010 target

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

2.3.1 Encourage Parties and other Governments and relevant initiatives, organizations and partners to make data available that will assist in the implementation of the Convention and the achievement of the 2010 target

2.3.2 Establish a metadata registry of data and information held by national clearing-house mechanisms

2.3.3 In collaboration with other relevant initiatives, organizations and partners, make information available through the clearing-house mechanism on data custodianship and issues of intellectual property rights

2.3.4 Enhance mechanisms for Parties, other Governments and stakeholders to contribute case studies and other information on best practices

2.3.5 Link with other information systems containing resources on best practices

2.3.6 In collaboration with other relevant initiatives, organizations and partners, assist in the establishment of a global electronic library catalogue on biodiversity information

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

2.3.7 National clearing-house mechanisms foster technical collaboration by making information available, including on their websites where appropriate, on technical expertise, new information technologies, geographical information systems and data modelling

2.3.8 National clearing-house mechanisms contribute to the development of and publish information on resources required to assist Parties with achievement of the 2010 target

2.3.9 In collaboration with other relevant initiatives, organizations, partners and national clearing-house mechanisms, facilitate access to national databases on biodiversity information

2.4. The clearing-house mechanism contributes to the future technical development of the Biosafety Clearing-House established under paragraph 1 of Article 20 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

2.4.1 Assist with national participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House by contributing technical expertise in technical workshops and training sessions

2.4.2 Continue to disseminate information through traditional methods to ensure full participation by Parties in activities related to the Cartagena Protocol

2.5. Parties have established effective mechanisms for facilitating the exchange of information, including as appropriate clearing-house mechanism websites which use, when possible and appropriate, common formats, protocols and standards, including metadata standards, as recommended by the clearing-house mechanism

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

2.5.1 Continue to update and use the CHM Toolkit to assist Parties in the use of common formats, protocols and standards

2.5.2 Publish metadata standards more widely for use by Parties

2.5.3 Continue to update the controlled vocabulary for the Convention on Biological Diversity with new and evolving terminology for use by Parties to facilitate the interoperability of information, and use as descriptors in web page metadata records and library collections

2.5.4 Offer assistance to Parties and other Governments with the use of the controlled vocabulary for the Convention, subject and analytical cataloguing and authority control

Goal 3: The clearing-house mechanism is fully operational with participation of all Parties and an expanded network of partners

3.1. All Parties have established and are further developing clearing-house mechanisms through sustainable funding

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

3.1.1 Make available to Parties through the clearing-house mechanism information on GEF funding, including a list of GEF-funded projects and enabling activities related to the clearing-house mechanism

3.1.2 Further develop the CHM Toolkit to assist Parties and other Governments to develop and establish clearing-house mechanisms

3.1.3 Use the results from checklists and surveys on the state of development of national clearing-house mechanisms to better target capacity-building activities at the national level

3.1.4 Share innovative approaches of national clearing-house mechanisms across CHM focal points

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

3.1.5 Through their activities, national clearing-house mechanisms make a strong case for sustainable funding, support and investment

3.1.6 Parties without clearing-house mechanisms use GEF funding to establish them

3.1.7 Parties with well-developed clearing-house mechanisms participate in mentoring programmes to assist other Parties with less developed clearing-house mechanisms

3.2. Relevant partners participate in an expanded clearing-house mechanism network

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

3.2.1 Make available to Parties and other Governments information on the development and use of electronic and traditional communication tools

3.2.2 Assist Parties and other Governments with the use of electronic and traditional communication tools

Actions by the CBD and national clearing-house mechanisms

3.2.3 Establish partnerships with existing networks

3.2.4 Publish information through the clearing-house mechanism on activities of partner networks

3.2.5 Make available, and continuously update, a list of thematic contact points to facilitate networking, communication and collaboration among national and regional clearing-house mechanisms

3.3. Parties have established and use effective mechanisms for facilitating scientific and technical cooperation, including thematic networks where appropriate in support of the implementation the Convention and the achievement of the 2010 target

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

3.3.1 Publish information on clearing-house mechanism partnerships to develop thematic networks (Global Invasive Species Programme, Article 8(j), etc.)

3.3.2 Publish information on existing thematic networks and their data resources

3.3.3 Add a component on issues related to networking in capacity building technical workshops and training sessions organized by the Secretariat

Actions by national clearing-house mechanisms

3.3.4 Identify work areas where active networking between experts would facilitate implementation of priority actions in national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and seek to establish such networks

Objective

Activities

3.4. The clearing-house mechanism contributes to the development of the global communication, education and public awareness network

Actions by the CBD clearing-house mechanism

3.4.1 Develop electronic interactive communication tools through the Convention website to promote and facilitate greater communication and interaction with stakeholders and civil society

3.4.2 Develop electronic web-based spaces to assist with activities related to communication, education and public awareness and to promote civil society participation and interaction in activities related to the implementation of the Convention

3.4.3 Support the objectives of the communication strategy of the Convention through the development of information dissemination tools and systems

3.4.4 Publish a regular column on activities related to the clearing-house mechanism in the CBD News

Actions by the CBD and national clearing-house mechanisms

3.4.5 Develop education modules to assist in the implementation of activities related to the implementation of the Convention

3.4.6 Develop training modules on the use of new information and web-based technologies for use in training sessions and technical workshops

3.4.7 Support activities to create education networks devoted to biodiversity-related education and training

3.4.8 Increase the use of electronic communication tools and web-based technologies that facilitate the sharing and dissemination of information on the clearing-house mechanism and its activities, taking into account the importance of local languages