Date: 12 October 2014
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Alpensia Convention Center, Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, Hall E (Working Group II room)
INTRODUCTION Following guidance from the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol and the Conference of the Parties, the Executive Secretary has been implementing the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House. More information on progress made and feedback received in the implementation of the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House can be found in document
UNEP/CBD/NP/COP-MOP/1/2. Draft modalities of operation of the ABS Clearing-House are made available in document
UNEP/CBD/NP/COP-MOP/1/2/ADD1. (
See all documents in 6 languages)
Having a fully functional ABS Clearing-House that includes national information is essential for the operationalization of the Nagoya Protocol and will significantly contribute to achieving
Aichi Biodiversity Target 16: “By 2015, the Nagoya Protocol is in force and operational, consistent with national legislation”.
OBJECTIVES The capacity-building workshop on the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House has the following objectives:
- Demonstrating the role of the ABS Clearing-House for supporting implementation of the Protocol;
- Increasing awareness of the importance of actively participating in sharing information through this platform;
- Enhancing capacity to make use of the tools available through the ABS Clearing-House and heightening awareness of how these tools can support Parties, indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders in their work;
- Enabling active participation of Parties by building capacity to register and retrieve l information, in particular for those countries that have already ratified the Protocol.
DRAFT PROGRAMME AND METHODOLOGY The workshop will be held on Sunday 12 October 2014 from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a pause for lunch and two coffee breaks. (
see notification)
In the morning, a general informative session will launch the operational phase of the ABS Clearing-House and raise awareness of the potential contribution of the ABS Clearing-House in implementing the Nagoya Protocol. This session is open to the
general public and interpretation will be offered in
English, French and Spanish.
In the afternoon, a training session will build capacity for registering and retrieving information through the ABS Clearing-House. Only
designated publishing authorities for the ABS Clearing-House and national authorized users are invited to participate in this training session. The online demonstration will be in English, even though the Secretariat will be available to answer questions and assist also in Spanish and French.
General Session (9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) 1. Opening of the workshop The Secretariat will officially launch the operational phase of the ABS Clearing-House and introduce the organisation of work and methodology of the workshop.
2. Overview of the role of the ABS Clearing-House in supporting implementation of the Nagoya Protocol The Secretariat will introduce the contribution of the ABS Clearing-House to the Nagoya Protocol implementation on the following topics:
(a) Access;
(b) Monitoring the utilization of genetic resources;
(c) Traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources; and
(d) Sharing information and experiences on implementation of the Protocol.
3. Operation of the ABS Clearing-House Participants will be introduced to the ABS Clearing-House. This will include an overview to the registering and searching functions, the proposed modalities of operation, including the different user roles (publishing authority and national authorised users) and types of records (national and reference records).
4. Report on progress made on the pilot phase of the ABS Clearing-House and issues for consideration by the COP-MOP The Secretariat of the CBD will report on the progress made during the pilot-phase of the ABS Clearing-House and present the issues concerning the ABS Clearing-House which will be under discussion at COP-MOP.
Training session (2 p.m. – 5 p.m.) Only for designated publishing authorities and national authorized users.
5. Introduction to the help functions of the ABS Clearing-House The Secretariat will present and demonstrate the online “help functions” of the ABS Clearing-House to inform participants on how to perform the following activities:
(a) Searching information about national records and reference records (virtual library, meeting documents, etc.);
(b) Browsing country profiles.
6. Registering and publishing information at the ABS Clearing-House Participants will be invited to undertake hands-on training for registering and publishing their national information. For this exercise, it is recommended that participants
bring existing national information. In order for participants to take part in this hands-on training it is very important that each participant bring a
computer. The Secretariat will be available to answer any questions participants may have during the registration of the information.
This will allow building the capacity of the participants in completing the following common formats:
(a) Competent National Authority (CNA);
(b) ABS measures (Legislative, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing);
(c) Checkpoints;
(d) Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC);
(e) Checkpoint Communiqué (CPC);
(f) ABS National Website or Database;
(g) Uploading files in the Virtual Library.
7. Provision of feedback Participants will be invited to provide feedback on the ABS Clearing-House.
8. Closure of the workshop The workshop will close at 5 p.m.
