Notification 2015-126

Dear Madam/Sir, I refer to Notification 2015-068 issued on 15 June 2015 in response to paragraph 15 of decision XII/2 B in which the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity requests the Executive Secretary to propose, in collaboration with the informal advisory committee to the clearing-house mechanism (CHM-IAC), a process to grant, at the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties, subject to the availability of resources, an award to the Parties that have made the most significant progress in the establishment or further development of their national clearing-house mechanisms. This notification is available online at www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2015/ntf-2015-068-chm-award-en.pdf. Through this notification, each Party was kindly invited to submit, by 31 July 2015, a questionnaire about the status of its national clearing-house mechanism as well as its plans to improve it. At its recent meeting held on 30-31 October 2015 in Montreal, the informal advisory committee to the clearing-house mechanism, noting that some Parties had not yet submitted their questionnaires, advised the Executive Secretary to remind them to do so by the end of the year. I would therefore urge those Parties to return the questionnaire available in annex III by e mail to secretariat@cbd.int by 31 December 2015 under the subject "CHM Award". For your reference, please also find in annex I the modalities for granting such an award at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and in annex II, an overview of the expected role of a national clearing-house mechanism. Should you need any further information on this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact the CHM team by e mail at chm@cbd.int, especially if your country has not yet established its national clearing-house mechanism and wishes to do so in a near future. I look forward to a stimulating competition and wish good luck to all Parties.

Executive Secretary

To: CBD and CHM National Focal Points