Whereas Article 17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requires Parties to facilitate the exchange of information, from all publicly available sources, relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity;
Whereas Article 18 of the CBD made a provision for the establishment of a clearing-house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation;
Whereas the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD in its decision X/15 agreed that the mission of the CHM is to contribute to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity through effective information services and other appropriate means to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation, knowledge sharing and information exchange, and to establish a fully operational knowledge network;
Whereas the COP in its decision 14/25 requested the Executive Secretary to develop a knowledge management (KM) component as a part of the preparatory process for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, drawing on the experience gained from relevant KM initiatives; Whereas the COP, at its fifteenth meeting is expected to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF), along with its associated monitoring framework, the long-term strategic framework for capacity-building and development and the knowledge management component;
Now therefore we, the undersigned representatives of governments and organizations, express our intent to pursue the establishment of a Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity to facilitate national efforts to implement, monitor and report on the progress towards the goals and targets of the GBF by enhancing the generation, collection, curation, analysis, sharing and use of relevant data, information and knowledge from and for all governments and relevant non-state actors, including: indigenous peoples and local communities, intergovernmental organizations, multilateral environmental agreements, subnational governments and other local authorities, civil society, business and finance, academia and scientific communities at national, regional and global levels.
The objectives of Global Knowledge Support Service for Biodiversity would include:
- Enhancing capacities for the collection, curation, analysis, sharing and use of biodiversity-related data, information and knowledge, including human resources and institutional mechanisms to leverage and link existing data, information and knowledge available at national, regional, and global scales.
- Facilitating access to relevant data, information, knowledge to, inter alia, support evidence-based planning, policymaking, decision-making, implementation and monitoring and reporting of progress towards the achievement of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework goals and targets.
- Enabling governments and relevant non-state actors, to access and use, as appropriate, relevant tools and services, including existing databases, platforms, networks and tools, such as the Data Reporting Tool (DaRT) and InforMEA;
- Connecting and facilitating coordination among existing biodiversity knowledge hubs, networks of knowledge experts and practitioners, information and data providers, and relevant communities of practice, including through promoting exchange and alignment between governments and relevant non-state actors.
- Collaborating with and supporting relevant knowledge management initiatives, such as the Knowledge Management for Biodiversity (KM4B) Initiative and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, to enable Parties to identify their knowledge gaps and needs, co-create solutions, articulate national biodiversity knowledge action agendas and develop programmes for their implementation.
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