Notification 2009-178

Dear Madam/Sir, As you may be aware, Article 23 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety provides for public awareness and participation, and requires Parties, among other things, to inform their public, in accordance with their respective laws and regulations, about the means of public access to the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Furthermore, Programme element 5 (Review of activities) of the BCH’s Multi-year Program of Work recommends the use of targeted follow-up surveys and user feedback mechanisms aimed to review the operation of the BCH. Accordingly, the fourth meeting of Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety requested, in paragraph 8 of its decision BS-IV/2, the Executive Secretary to commission a study of users and potential users of the BCH in order to: (a) Assess what information users and potential users of the BCH would find useful; and (b) Prioritize the work programme of the BCH in order to focus the efforts of the Secretariat on making the BCH a useful tool; We are pleased to inform you that this study has been launched and that a survey has been prepared as a part of this process. The survey will be available online at http://bch.cbd.int/resources/bch-survey/ for completion until 31 January 2010. I would be very grateful if you could contribute to the success of this process by encouraging participation in the survey of a wide range of users and potential users of the BCH known to you in your country. Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Executive Secretary

To: BCH National Focal Points, CPB National Focal Points, Relevant Organizations