Criteria for Membership of Non-Governmental, International and Regional Organizations in the IABIN Council

Annex 1 of IABIN's Rules of Procedure

From its earliest formulation, IABIN was to build upon such initiatives as the Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM), the Man in the Biosphere Network (MABNet) Americas, and the Biodiversity Conservation Information System (BCIS). Through close cooperation with ongoing CHM activities, IABIN has been discussed as a model for a regional implementation of the CHM. IABIN is represented on the CHM Informal Advisory Committee, and the CHM Secretariat is invited to IABIN discussions. The Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity has on many occasions endorsed regional activities for the CHM, and discussions have been ongoing regarding possible Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding for IABIN developments. Ongoing discussions have also taken place with MABNet and BCIS, with the later being commissioned to provide its expertise on the IABIN governance study.

IABIN has also developed some special technical relationships with the North American Biodiversity Information Network (NABIN) through pilot project funding from the World Bank. This project involves computer scientists from five IABIN member countries who are being trained on the Species Analyst, the infrastructure system for NABIN.

At the Technical Workshop for the Establishment of IABIN, held in Brasilia in April 1999, a working group focused on how to identify and build relationships with key cooperators in the IABIN implementation process. One way is to include representatives of appropriate non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and sub-regional, regional and global initiatives (referred to as "cooperators") which deal with biodiversity information on the IABIN Council.

The following tables presents criteria for selecting which of these cooperating institutions and organizations should be invited to become members of the IABIN Council. These criteria reflect the discussions in Brasilia and at the First IABIN Council Meeting, held in Miami, Florida, in December 1999. While these criteria are rather general at this point, as specific objectives develop, they can be modified to promote the most productive inter-organizational relationships.

Suggested steps for developing cooperation included:

1. Develop liaison relationship in the form of a named person;

2. Draft a written agreement(s) with cooperator;

3. Develop communication mechanisms to share information;

4. Nominate the cooperator for participation in IABIN Council.