Executive Summary

The first Experts Meeting on the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network was held in Washington, DC at the Organization of American States on October 6 and 7. This meeting was held in direct response to Initiative 31 of the Santa Cruz Action Plan for Sustainable Development of the Americas. The OAS, in its coordinating role for Summit follow-up, invited experts from seven countries to develop plans to establish a hemispheric network for sharing biodiversity information. The experts 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. The Government of Brazil offered to host an inter-American meeting to formally inaugurate the network in the third quarter of 1998. Major goals of this experts meeting were to begin developing a meeting agenda and timetable for preparatory activities for Brazil, including required consultations with other governments and civil society representatives, a preliminary list of papers for the meeting and potential pilot projects for launching the Network. Plans for the network will be discussed at the upcoming Clearing House Mechanism Workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Cartagena, Colombia from October 13-16, 1997.

Background

1. Biological information and data are requisite to decision-making required for reaching sustainable development goals. Several major efforts are underway to establish systems for collecting and cataloging specific types of biological data on global, regional and national levels. However, even though much information already exists concerning the use and conservation of biological diversity throughout the Americas, locating, identifying, and accessing such information is often a very frustrating and time-consuming undertaking. In addition, the tools and institutional arrangements for bring despaired information together is inadequate at this time.

2. With this issue in mind, the Action Plan for Sustainable Development forthcoming from the Summit of the Americas which was held in December, 1996 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia included several Initiatives addressing various aspects of improving the management of biodiversity (Initiatives 23-31). Initiative 31 specifically called for the establishment of an Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, by stating that Governments (of the Americas) will:

4. After Santa Cruz, several nations with a particular interest in Initiative 31, including Brazil, Mexico and the USA, held a series of informal discussions on mechanisms to move this Initiative from the drawing board to reality. Input from civil society was also provided through the Inter-American Commission on Sustainable Development.

5. The OAS Unit for Sustainable Development and the Environment (OAS/USDE), in its role as the overall coordinator for Summit follow-up, requested funding to support two expert meetings which would bring together a select group of nations to further discuss how IABIN might be formalized. Finally, the Government of Brazil has committed to hosting a major international conference to bring IABIN into existence, and to bring to closure an intensive planning and consultative period. This meeting is tentatively scheduled the third quarter of 1998.
 

IABIN Expert Meeting

6. The first Meeting of Experts Regarding the Establishment of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) was held 6-7 October at the OAS offices in Washington D.C. Experts from seven Nations participated in the meeting (see annex A for agenda and annex B for list of participants). Brief opening statements were made by three individuals: the Director of the OAS Unit of Sustainable Development and the Environment, Mr. Kirk P. Rodgers; the Chairman of the CEPCIDI (Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integrated Development of the OAS) Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainable Development, Ambassador Sarah Horsey-Barr (USA Delegation to the OAS); and the meeting Chairman, Dr. Braulio de S. Dias, of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment.

7. In his comments, Mr. Rodgers noted the experience of the Inter-American dialogue on water resources as a possible model for ensuring that there was continuity in the process of establishing IABIN. He also stressed the importance of securing a strong commitment from governments including support for long-term financing of the network. Ambassador Horsey-Barr mentioned the importance of active and broad government involvement in IABIN as a means of ensuring continued support of the OAS. She also noted the importance of involvement of civil society, since many repositories of biological data are outside of governments. Dr. Dias stressed the commitment of his government to IABIN as well as the need for any such network to be seen as integral and complementary to the Clearing House Mechanism of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/CHM). In addition, Dr. Dias noted the appeal of a regional effort such as IABIN to help ensure that national efforts at collecting and storing biological data are compatible.

Summary of Discussions (see Annex C for daily summaries of discussions)

8. Day one of the meeting was primary dedicated to presentations of country initiatives relevant to the IABIN development process, a broad discussion on the possible concepts and roles for IABIN, and debating the details of a workplan for the next several months leading to the Brazil intergovernmental meeting.

9. The Chairman reviewed the underlying elements of IABIN as stated in Initiative 31 and agreed upon at the Santa Cruz meeting to include that the network will be principally internet-based, provide information in a format that will assist decision-makers, and build-on existing networks and intergovernmental mandates for the Clearing House Mechanism. In addition, there was acknowledgement of a continuing role for the OAS/USDE in providing support for the expert process, and recognition of the importance of the offer of Brazil to host an intergovernmental meeting in 1998.

10. Many challenges will face IABIN, both in the establishment phase as well as in the long-term. The group listed many issues of this nature and concluded that they will have to be addressed in the technical papers that will be prepared for the Brazil meeting as well as in selected pilot projects which will mark the official launching of IABIN. Final decisions on the pilot projects will be made at a later stage in the expert consultation process.

11. Discussion of the IABIN workplan centered on key principles, governance, constituencies, information content and financial sustainability. The experts 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. The Director of the OAS/USDE offered his Unit=s experience in organizing the Inter-American Water Resources Network. He specifically noted that while the Internet can be very helpful in organizing networks, face-to-face dialogue among expert groups is also essential. He further reported that establishing an advisory council with broad stakeholder representation, and government nominated focal points were key elements in the effectiveness of the Inter-American Water Resources Network. Finally, he noted that securing long-term financial support for the network would, in large part, determine its overall success. Following this discussion, the group endorsed a recommendation that governments be asked to name focal points for IABIN. The group also recommended that whenever possible IABIN and CHM focal points should be the same.

12. Day two of the meeting was dedicated to a fairly in-depth discussion of the agenda, potential attendees, and expected outcomes for the upcoming Brazil meeting as well agreeing on the next steps to be taken by the expert group in its role to facilitate preparation for such an event. In addition, The Nature Conservancy, under contract to the OAS/USDE, presented a summary of the work being undertaken to gather information on other hemispheric networking and clearing house efforts.

13. Several potential sources of funding in support of the IABIN preparation process were identified and discussed. The U.S. Department of Interior announced limited USAID funding for background studies and including consultants and travel. An informal meeting with Global Environment Facility officials indicated the possibility of requesting GEF funding for IABIN. The OAS/USDE has US$25,000 remaining to support the IABIN process, which must be obligated in 1997, as well as a proposal for US$45,000 to support the Brazil meeting in 1998.

14. Late August to mid-September 1998 was the time-period identified as best for the Brazil meeting. A discussion ensued as to the time frame for preparing and distributing invitations, papers, etc. A discussion on feasibility studies led to offers of volunteers who will prepare initial evaluations of potential projects. INBIO-Costa Rica will examine the experience of countries with the UNEP biodiversity Data Management Program (BDM) as a possible model for other nations; CONABIO-Mexico will explore the possibility of expanding a current US-Canadian-Mexican project on the birds of North America to cover the entire hemisphere; CONAMA-Chile will look at possibility of a project to provide integrated information on vectors of diseases such as hanta virus and malaria; NBII-USA will examine the option of a study of invasive species; BDT-Brazil will analyze the possibilities of transfer formats for the Internet; and Humboldt-Colombia will look into topologies of the Internet and its potential application to a network such as is envisioned for IABIN.

15. Two principal alternatives to utilizing the 1997 OAS funds were discussed. The first is to hold a second expert meeting, and the alternative is to use these funds to prepare background papers for Brazil or to advance preparation of feasibility studies of pilot proposals. A final decision will be made after the Clearing House Mechanism Workshop on Latin America and the Caribbean Region (Cartagena, Colombia, 13-16 October 1998). Dr. Dias or Dr. Samper will notify the OAS/USDE of the decision.

Principle Recommendations

16. Final recommendations of the meeting are summarized in the following table.