Ref.: SCBD/NPU/DC/TS/MD/GT/90540 

28 September 2022 

N O T I F I C A T I O N

Workshop on the Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House 

11 December 2022 – Montreal, Canada 

Dear Madam/Sir, 

I am pleased to inform Parties and observers that the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is organizing a workshop on “The Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House (ABS Clearing-House)”, that will take place in the margins of part two of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and concurrent meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols. This half-day workshop, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Government of Japan, is open to all COP 15 and COP-MOP 4 participants, and will be held in Montreal, Canada on Sunday, 11 December 2022 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

 The ABS Clearing-House is a platform for exchanging information on access and benefit-sharing and a key tool for facilitating the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol by enhancing legal certainty and transparency on procedures for access, and for monitoring the utilization of genetic resources. National users of the ABS Clearing-House play a crucial role in ensuring that the national information made available through the ABS Clearing-House is reliable, accurate and complete. 

The workshop will provide an update on progress and an overview of key concepts and functionality related to the ABS Clearing-House. In addition, this workshop will be largely based on the information received in the registration questionnaire, therefore please ensure that you complete the questionnaire and provide us with your expectations, questions and challenges related to the ABS ClearingHouse that you would like to be addressed. Please use the following link to register for the workshop by completing the questionnaire at: ABSCH workshop registration form (https://forms.office.com/r/pE4CdM62NA). 

The ABS Clearing-House is a tool for all ABS stakeholders to use and contribute to, and each participant is strongly encouraged to bring relevant information that has not yet been made available on ABS Clearing-House and publish or update this information during the workshop. For any additional questions, please contact the ABS Clearing-House team at absch@cbd.int. Space is limited and priority will be given to those who confirm their participation by 11 November 2022. Thank you for your continued support to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. 

Please accept, Madam/Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration. 

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema 

Executive Secretary