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5th Meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies for Scientific,Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).

Montréal, CANADA
31 January - 04 February 2000
 

Thursday 03 February :


On Wednesday 02 February, delegates met in two Working Groups.  Working Group One addressed alien species and marine and coastal biodiversity, including the issue of coral reef bleaching. Working Group Two addressed sustainable use.

During an afternoon Plenary, SBSTTA-5 Chair Cristiàn Samper (Colombia) requested regional group nominations to the SBSTTA Bureau. 

Plenary discussed terms of reference for the ad hoc Technical Experts Groups, with suggestions for groups on forest biodiversity, sustainable use, and the ecosystem approach.  Discussions closed with the establishment of a contact group to draft recommendations.

Plenary also discussed co-operation with other bodies, with suggestions to explore collaboration with the Millennium Assessment (see our coverage of the MA side event).  

SBSTTA Plenary also heard proposed changes to the Clearing- House Mechanism (CHM), resulting from the discussions of an informal working group.

Side Events:

Clearing House Mechanism (CHM)

<< Marc Auer (l) and Beatriz Torres (r) of the CBD-CHM present results of an independent review.

The CHM uses information and communications technologies in the dissemination of information relevant to biodiversity to National Focal Points.  The CHM promotes communication and collaboration among contributing members internationally, to provide a central source of policy information, to build local capacities, and to raise public awareness of issues surrounding biodiversity.

The CHM held a side event earlier in the week, in which the results of the "Independent Review of the CHM Pilot Phase" were presented.  According to this review, the CHM has many salient characteristics as a whole:

Most Useful Features: Challenges / Opportunities:

  • exchange of information (both electronic and non-electronic)

  • establishment of partnerships

  • facilitation of initiatives

  • delivery of training

  • resource support

  • synergies gained

  • technological issues

  • language barriers

  • non-standardized data

  • outdated information

  • public awareness

  • standardized CHM nodes

  • updating mechanisms

With consistent local and regional capacity-building needs, especially with respect to financial support, training, equipment and infrastructure, the CHM has determined that its long-term work plan needs to integrate the results of the independent review, and focus on national implementation, capacity building, network development, and the promotion of synergies.  Based on their experiences as a funder and participating organization, the GEF has released a paper In support of the CHM. To visit the Clearing-House Mechanism, click on this link : [http://www.biodiv.org/chm/].

Réunion des pays Francophones en Développement >>

Lunchtime video on Norwegian Coral Reefs

Peter Johan Schei, International Negotiations Director of the Directorate for Nature Management >>


Convention on Biodiversity Homepage [CBD]
 CBD Secretariat page for the Resumed ExCOP
Clearing House Mechanism [CHM]
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

This page was last updated 02/03/2000 14:16:09 -0600
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