April 15-18, 1999, Brasilia, Brazil

Final meeting report

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. Presentation of the background studies agreed on at the Second Meeting of Experts and demonstrations of national and international initiatives were conducted at the meeting. Participants examined governance models for the network, themes and criteria for pilot projects, cooperation opportunities with other initiatives, and capacity building and connectivity issues within the network.

One of the most significant outcomes of the Brazil meeting was agreement on a governance structure for IABIN. The meeting participants agreed on many of the key recommendations presented in the background paper titled 'IABIN Governance: Recommendations for the Organization and Coordination of IABIN'. They agreed that IABIN should be organized as a managed network with a governance structure comprised of the following:

• A Council - that would provide direction to IABIN.
• An Executive Committee - that would provide guidance between meetings.
• Technical Working Groups - that would address operational issues of the network.
• A Hub - that would provide support to IABIN.
• A political host - that would serve as the diplomatic conduit for IABIN. Participants selected
• the OAS as the political host for IABIN.

Funding mechanisms considered for implementation of this structure included the establishment of a Trust Fund entity to assist with the generation of funds in a not-for-profit mode.

In addition to governance issues, participants at the IABIN meeting in Brazil discussed criteria for pilot projects and priority themes for the network. Participants agreed that IABIN pilot projects should:

• Advance technical objectives
• Advance creation of the network
• Add value
• Address transnational issues and resources
• Address real problems
• Be relevant for decision-making
• Be achievable, realistic, and measurable
• Be scalable
• Attract funding
• Support interdisciplinary approaches
• Involve multiple institutions
• Link to other efforts
• Advance education or public awareness

The following priority themes were also identified by participants as relevant to IABIN: biological surveys, public health and ecosystem degradation relationships, biodiversity issues with commercial or bio-agricultural effects, ecosystems, land management, biodiversity information / expertise, and network infrastructure. Participants expressed interest in developing pilot projects on topics such as: invasive species, biological collections, pollinators, neotropical fishes, regional information networks, and biological dynamics of forest fragments, among others.