Clearing-House Mechanism

Clearing-House Mechanism // Activities
Thursday // 11.15.2012

Activities

The table below is the list of recommended activities from the "Proposed Work Programme for the Clearing-House Mechanism in support for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020" (document UNEP/CBD/COP/11/31).

Goal 1

The central clearing-house mechanism provides effective global information services to facilitate the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.
Ref. Objectives and Activities

1.1. The CBD Secretariat has the capacity to sustain an effective central clearing-house mechanism.

1.1.1. Maintain a list of priority activities to be undertaken on the central clearing-house mechanism, taking into account progress made, available capacity, and evolving needs to enable, inter alia, the Conference of Parties, at each of its meetings, to review progress and, as necessary, adjust the activities.
1.1.2. Establish processes to monitor the development and effectiveness of the central clearing-house mechanism.
1.1.3. Ensure that the Secretariat has the capacity to further develop and maintain the CBD website and other modern information services of the central clearing-house mechanism.
1.1.4. Ensure that the Secretariat has capacity to manage knowledge and information, including terminology and documentation management.
1.1.5. Identify, assess, and adopt appropriate publicly-available tools or services that increase the capacity and sustainability of the central clearing-house mechanism in a cost-effective manner.
1.1.6. Optimize the process of maintaining the CBD website in all United Nations languages by making sound use of modern translation technology.

1.2. A high-quality CBD website is available in all United Nations languages.

1.2.1. Prepare a web content strategy for the CBD website in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and keep it in line with decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties.
1.2.2. Maintain and improve the CBD website and its related portals in terms of content, services, appearance, user-friendliness, usability and accessibility taking into account user feedback.
1.2.3. Make the CBD website available in all United Nations languages.
1.2.4. Ensures that the CBD website evolves in accordance with its web content strategy.

1.3. Effective information exchange services are fully operational.

1.3.1. Expand the knowledge base in a way that allows easy access and cross-references by continuously incorporating Convention-related information such as decisions, work programmes, targets, indicators, implementation activities, online sources, reference documents, case-studies, best practices, training materials, organizations, experts, contacts, events, maps, multimedia resources, and other relevant items.
1.3.2. Integrate collaboration tools in a user workspace encouraging Parties, experts, practitioners, and other stakeholders to maintain contact, share ideas, and work together, while providing quick access to information directly related to each user's role and activities.
1.3.3. Implement the online submission system as the update mechanism of the knowledge base and the collaboration tools in order to enable Parties and all stakeholders to make contributions related to the Convention and its implementation.
1.3.4. Implement specialized information services in accordance with decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties.
1.3.5. Expose data held by the central clearing-house mechanism through modern interfaces based on open standards as a way to facilitate access to information about the Convention on Biological Diversity.
1.3.6. Provide tools enabling national clearing-house mechanisms to automatically access and display relevant information from the central clearing-house mechanism.
1.3.7. Continue to develop and use information exchange services to make Convention-related information easily and widely accessible, in line with technological and social trends.

1.4. The CBD Secretariat facilitates the development of a network of experts and practitioners among Parties and partners.

1.4.1. Establish a user-friendly online networking platform for national focal points, experts, practitioners, and other relevant contacts to encourage participation.
1.4.2. Promote networking of Parties and partners by linking the central and national clearing-house mechanisms.
1.4.3. Explore opportunities to facilitate scientific and technical cooperation for the implementation of the Convention.

1.5. Guidance is available for Parties and partners to exchange information through the clearing house mechanism network.

1.5.1. Establish and publish specifications to exchange information through the clearing-house mechanism network, including interoperability protocols, common formats, controlled vocabularies, application programming interfaces, and other technical guidelines.
1.5.2. Provide guidance to Parties and partners on how to exchange information through the clearing house mechanism network, including on the data submission and validation processes.

Goal 2

National clearing-house mechanisms provide effective information services to facilitate the implementation of the national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
Ref. Objectives and Activities

2.1. All Parties have the capacity to sustain effective national clearing-house mechanisms.

2.1.1. If not yet done, designate, as soon as possible, a national focal point for the clearing-house mechanism, as requested by paragraph 7 of decision II/3.
2.1.2. Identify a national structure, as appropriate, to coordinate the development of the clearing-house mechanism with participation of relevant biodiversity-related organizations and stakeholders.
2.1.3. Prepare a realistic national implementation strategy for the clearing-house mechanism, where appropriate, preferably as a component of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan, based on identified needs and anticipated resources.
2.1.4. Mobilize and allocate resources for strengthening the institutional capacity to implement the national clearing-house mechanism and for sustaining its operations.
2.1.5. Define roles and responsibilities for collecting, reviewing and disseminating information, managing website content, and for outreach activities, where appropriate.
2.1.6. Identify, assess, and adopt appropriate tools or services that increase the capacity and sustainability of the national clearing-house mechanism in a cost-effective manner.

2.2. High-quality national clearing-house mechanism websites are available.

2.2.1. Prepare a web content strategy for the national clearing-house mechanism serving as a key means for the implementation and review of the national biodiversity strategy and action plan, including by providing information on implementation activities, scientific data, expertise, and technologies.
2.2.2. If not yet done, establish a national clearing-house mechanism providing basic information on national contacts, and on biodiversity in the country.
2.2.3. Identify relevant content and information sources at the national level and promote them through the national clearing-house mechanism, in line with the web content strategy.
2.2.4. Maintain and improve the national clearing-house mechanism website in terms of content, services, appearance, user-friendliness, usability and accessibility taking into account users' feedback.
2.2.5. Whenever appropriate and feasible, make the national clearing-house mechanism website available in various national and local languages.
2.2.6. Whenever appropriate and feasible, further develop the national clearing-house mechanism at the sub-national or local level.

2.3. National information is exchanged through the clearing-house mechanism network.

2.3.1. Whenever possible, develop information exchange mechanisms with relevant national sources of biodiversity information, making use, whenever applicable and appropriate, of well-established open standards.
2.3.2. Whenever feasible and appropriate, make use of tools to exchange information with the central clearing-house mechanism.

2.4. Parties collaborate and share knowledge through the clearing-house mechanism network.

2.4.1. Undertake a national biodiversity knowledge management initiative that identifies knowledge needs and sources for the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
2.4.2. Ensure that there is a repository to preserve key knowledge on the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
2.4.3. Develop a knowledge-sharing culture to ensure that information and knowledge from various national sources is effectively provided and published on the national clearing-house mechanism.
2.4.4. Whenever possible, develop links between the national clearing-house mechanism and existing networks.
2.4.5. Encourage the use of the national clearing-house mechanism as a tool to dialog with the civil society, major groups and stakeholders in line with the national strategy for communication, education and public awareness.
2.4.6. Whenever possible, facilitate international collaboration initiatives, including scientific and technical cooperation, South-South or North-South cooperation.

2.5. Partners and the CBD Secretariat have contributed to the development of national clearing-house mechanisms.

2.5.1. Provide guidance to Parties on how to develop their national clearing-house mechanisms, taking into account a variety of implementation options.
2.5.2. Organize capacity-building workshops to assist Parties in developing their national clearing-house mechanisms, including through organizations which are present and active at the national or regional levels, and based on the special capacity-building needs of developing countries and on the status of their national clearing-house mechanisms.
2.5.3. Encourage collaboration initiatives, including South-South and North-South cooperation, as well as regional networking to further develop national clearing-house mechanisms.

Goal 3

Partners significantly expand the clearing-house mechanism network and services.
Ref. Objectives and Activities

3.1. Partners can sustain their participation in the clearing-house mechanism.

3.1.1. Identify the benefits of participating in the clearing-house mechanism in line with the organization's mandate and strategy.
3.1.2. Designate an appropriate contact or focal point for the clearing-house mechanism.
3.1.3. Mobilize and allocate resources for contributing to the clearing-house mechanism.

3.2. High-quality regional and thematic clearing-house mechanism websites are available.

3.2.1. Establish or further develop regional clearing-house mechanisms that contribute to the development of national clearing-house mechanisms.
3.2.2. Establish or further develop thematic clearing-house mechanisms that contribute to thematic programmes of the Convention.

3.3. Partner information is exchanged through the clearing-house mechanism network.

3.3.1. Collaboratively investigate ways for partners to make their Convention-related information accessible through the clearing-house mechanism.
3.3.2. Establish, through technical collaboration, information services enabling global access to relevant information from the Rio conventions and other multilateral environment agreements.
3.3.3. Develop, through technical collaboration between the Secretariats of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Convention on Biological Diversity, an interoperability mechanism that facilitates access to information on GEF-funded projects related to the implementation of the Convention.

3.4. Partners collaborate and share knowledge through the clearing-house mechanism network.

3.4.1. Whenever possible, undertake initiatives to generate, capture, organize, package or transfer information and knowledge relevant to the implementation of the Convention.
3.4.2. Contribute to the knowledge base by submitting information related to the implementation of the Convention, such as projects, case-studies, and other relevant resources.
3.4.3. Encourage experts and practitioners to participate in the communities of practice related to their expertise.