The Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) grew out of informal bilateral and multi-lateral discussions among countries of the Americas to develop national biological information infrastructures and establish agreements to exchange biodiversity information across national borders. Senior officials from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and the United States actively began promoting the concept of a more formal cooperation. These discussions crystallized the realization that intergovernmental action was needed to ensure coordination of the multitude of regional, national, and non-governmental efforts, so as to assist governments in meeting their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, other treaty obligations, and their own internal conservation and development objectives. Also relevant here was the experience of the Biodiversity Information Network (BIN21), a special interest network established as an international voluntary initiative. BIN21 held two workshops in 1992 and 1994 under the sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Program and the Brazilian Government with the result being a proposal to implement a “Clearing-House Mechanism of Biological Diversity.”
Both Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity called for cooperation on the production and dissemination of information needed for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. More specifically, the Convention had called for cooperation on research and training, public education and awareness, exchange of information, and, under Article 18, the establishment of a Clearing-House Mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation on biodiversity issues.
The seed for a hemispheric dialogue on biodiversity cooperative efforts was planted at the Miami Summit of the Americas in 1994. While a variety of useful efforts resulted from the Miami Summit, the establishment of a multilateral facilitation mechanism was still needed to extend and accelerate regional cooperation in the area of biodiversity information. In preparation for the Bolivia Summit of the Americas, an Inter-American Commission on Biodiversity was convened to discuss biodiversity issues and provide recommendations for the Bolivia Summit. The Commission recommended a commitment to an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, and this recommendation was carried through into the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development. In December 1996, the leaders of governments of the Americas met at the Summit on Sustainable Development in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and approved a Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of the Americas. Initiative 31 of the Plan of Action provided impetus for establishing a biodiversity information network and mandated governments to:
Seek to establish an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, primarily through the Internet, that will promote compatible means of collection, communication and exchange of information relevant to decision-making and education on biodiversity conservation as appropriate, and that builds upon such initiatives such as the Clearing House Mechanism provided for in the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Man and the Biosphere Network (MABNET Americas) and the Biodiversity Conservation Information System (BCIS), an initiative of nine IUCN programs and partner organizations. (Initiative 31)
This action was adopted at the Summit in recognition of the importance of cooperation in producing and disseminating information needed for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The Organization of American States (OAS), in its coordinating role for Summit follow-up, hosted two meetings of experts between 1997 and 1998 to develop the concept of the network, identify potential pilot projects, and start planning for an inter-American meeting on IABIN to be hosted by Brazil. From these meetings of experts, interest and participation in IABIN grew from the initial 4 countries to triple that, plus a number of non-government organizations.
The First Meeting of Experts was held on October 6-7, 1997, in Washington DC. Experts from 7 countries agreed that the network should focus primarily on scientific information, link the scientific and policy communities, be managed by governments with broad involvement of civil society, be targeted at critical information needs of decision-makers, and refrain from centralized approaches, relying instead upon distributed databases and systems. Participants also agreed to undertake consultation both within their governments and with civil society, and began developing pilot projects and preparatory papers for the IABIN meeting in Brazil. Participants initiated discussion of agenda items for the IABIN meeting in Brazil, and recommended that the OAS requested national IABIN focal points from its Member States. Because of IABIN’s close connection to the Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), member countries were encourage to designate the CHM National Focal Point as the IABIN Focal Point as well. It was envisioned that IABIN could serve as a prototype for a regional biodiversity information clearinghouse that could subsequently be implemented in other regions of the world, adding value to the CHM.
The Second Meeting of Experts, held on January 27-28, 1998, at the OAS in Washington DC, convened experts from 11 countries and several non-government and funding organizations. The Second Meeting of Experts advanced the formation of ideas on structure, coordination, and governance for IABIN, planning for the Brazil meeting, and examination of potential short and long-term sources of funding for IABIN.
On April 15-18, 1999, Brazil hosted the Technical Conference for Implementation of IABIN. More than one hundred participants from 20 countries and international organizations attended the meeting in Brasilia. The aim of the meeting was to build consensus and support on the best strategy to launch the pilot phase of IABIN.
At the IABIN meeting in Brazil, it was agreed that the governance structure for IABIN would be established after endorsement from the OAS Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS). That endorsement was obtained on October 15, 1999, in a resolution passed by CIDS, which recognized the importance of establishing the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) and recommended the broad participation by the institutions and experts of the Member States in IABIN. Furthermore, the resolution encouraged IABIN to develop a long-term program reflecting the national, regional, and sub-regional priorities of the participants, complementing and consistent with other on-going initiatives, and to give priority to the development of the technological tools necessary to facilitate information exchange among the participants.
The first IABIN Council Meeting was held in Miami on December 13-14, 1999. Thirty-seven representatives from 18 countries and several international initiatives and organizations participated. As a result of that meeting an Executive Committee was elected and two working groups were formed to continue the development of technical activities and to look at near term funding for and the long-term sustainability of IABIN.
IABIN implementation has continued to progress in two areas: the initiation of specific projects to address biodiversity issues (e.g., invasive species), network standards (e.g., metadata), and tools (e.g., distributed database search engine), and the development of a consultative process to encourage the participation of individuals and institutions from public and private sectors in the countries of the Americas. To date, grants from the Organization of American States, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the World Bank have funded these modest start-up efforts. However, a more robust implementation of IABIN which would demonstrate its value to the biodiversity community and prove the concept of a regional prototype clearinghouse mechanism has not been possible due to the lack of a significant grant or the establishment of a recurring financial base which would ensure the sustainability of IABIN.
At a meeting of two IABIN Technical Working Groups, held June 27-28, 2000, it was decided that a proposal to the Global Environment Facility would be prepared requesting grants to help fund the transition to a fully functioning and sustainable network. Work is currently underway to develop such a proposal, as well as proposals to other funding agencies to support IABIN implementation.
As of mid-2000, 25 countries in the Americas have designated an IABIN Focal Point, and several international organizations have expressed interest in IABIN. The network is increasingly being viewed as one of the best examples of regional implementation of a biodiversity information initiative at the international level. With the continued support of the biodiversity community, IABIN will evolve into the valuable tool for biodiversity conservation envisioned by its founders, and the region — and the earth — will begin to accrue the benefits foreseen.
July 2000