Knowledge Management for MEAs

Each biodiversity convention – including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – generates large quantities of data, documents and other forms of information. Much of this information addresses common biodiversity-related themes and activities. However, because it is not inter-linked or organized in a consistent and harmonized manner, grasping the overall picture and ensuring that the conventions are mutually supportive often becomes a challenge.

Most major corporations and organizations also face the challenge of managing large, isolated pools of information. Fortunately, the growing recognition that institutional information is a vital strategic asset is occurring just as rapid advances in information technology (IT) are providing new solutions. Together, these forces have inspired the development of a new, more strategic approach to information resources known in the jargon as “knowledge management”. Just as the Internet exploded out of obscurity in the early 1990s to become the dominant medium that it is today, knowledge management will evolve over the coming decade to become a universally used organizational tool for strategic management.

Using the principles and IT tools of knowledge management, the four secretariats of Biodiversity-related MEAs, together with UNEP and the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), in collaboration with other partner organizations, have launched a project,which aims to promote the strategic use of information and strengthen global action on biological diversity. Initially, the project will focus on building the harmonized knowledge base of the information related to national focal points and Parties, strategic plans and convention decisions. After the completion of the first phase, the project will focus on other categories of databases, such as official documents, case studies, recommendations from scientific bodies and information aimed at assisting Parties to achieve the 2010 target. Furthermore, the harmonized knowledge bases developed under the project will also be inter-linked with similar efforts throughout the UN system and beyond.

List of activities

• Knowledge Management Meeting 13 to 16 June 2006, Cambridge, UK.
• Knowledge Management for Biodiversity Project
• Database of Positions and Issues Taken at MEA Negotiations
• MEA Bulletin