Biodiversity Convention

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992, and entered into force in December 1993. As the first treaty to provide a legal framework for biodiversity conservation, the Convention established three main goals:

• the conservation of biological diversity,
• the sustainable use of its components, and
• the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
  

Contracting Parties are required to create and enforce national strategies and action plans to conserve, protect and enhance biological diversity. They are also required to undertake action to implement the thematic work programmes on ecosystems and a range of cross-cutting issues which have been established to take forward the provisions of the Convention. As of December 2002 there were 187 Contracting Parties to the Convention.

* What is a clearing-house?

The term "clearing-house" originally referred to a financial establishment where checks and bills are exchanged among member banks so that only the net balances need to be settled in cash. Today, its meaning has been extended to include any agency that brings together seekers and providers of goods, services or information, thus matching demand with supply.

* The Clearing-House mission?

• Promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation, within and between countries.
• Develop a global mechanism for exchanging and integrating information on biodiversity.
• Develop the necessary human and technological network.

* The mechanism's key characteristics?

• Compatible with different levels of national capacity
• Needs-driven.
• Structurally decentralized.
• Provides access to information.
• Supports decision-making.
• Has no vested interest in controlling the expertise or information.
• Created for the mutual benefit of all participants.

CBD Website:

		CBD official website.
		CBD CHM website.
		Background and status.
		COP decisions.
		The Clearing-house Mechanism Matrix of Work [105 KB].
		Clearing House Mechanism toolkit.