Tag Article | Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House

Getting started using the ABS Clearing-House for Governments

  10 Oct 2018

In accordance with Article 14, paragraph 2 of the Protocol, in line with decision NP 2/2, paragraph 11, Parties are urged to publish all mandatory information available at the national level on the ABS Clearing-House, as soon as possible. They are also urged to ensure that the information published is complete and relevant and kept up-to-date. In addition, Parties are urged to make permits or their equivalents available to the ABS Clearing-House so that they can constitute internationally recognized certificates of compliance. Non-Parties are also encouraged to provide the ABS Clearing-House with relevant information as soon as possible. In order to make national information available on the ABS Clearing-House, countries first need to nominate a publishing authority. Countries that have not yet designated their publishing authority are kindly requested to do so at their earliest convenience. 

Follow the steps below to start publishing national information on the ABS Clearing-House. For any questions or assistance, please contact: absch@cbd.int.

STEP 1: Designate a Publishing Authority 

An essential and important step in order to be able to publish information on the ABS Clearing-House is to first designate a Publishing Authority (PA) for your country. The publishing authority is the single person responsible for approving the publication of national records and ensuring that all information made available is complete, non-confidential, relevant, and up-to-date.

Important things to know about the publishing authority:

  • If you are not sure who to designate as the publishing authority, the ABS national focal point can be designated as the publishing authority.
  • The publishing authority can be changed easily at any time by the ABS national focal point.
  • A publishing authority is necessary in order to publish national records (including the Interim National Report) on the ABS Clearing-House.

Download and complete the PA/NAU Designation form or contact the Secretariat (absch@cbd.int) for help to designate a publishing authority. 

 

STEP 2: Sign in 

Once you have been designated as the publishing authority or a nationally authorized user for your country, if you don't already have a CBD account, you will receive instructions by email on how to setup your CBD Account and password and sign-in to the ABS Clearing-House. Once signed-in, click the "submit" link in the main navigation bar, to access your dashboard where you can view and submit national records for your country.

 

STEP 3: Publish your information 

To ensure that the ABS Clearing-House fulfils its role, Article 14 of the Protocol states Parties to the Protocol are required to make available certain key types of information through the ABS Clearing-House. In addition to this essential information, the Protocol also identifies other useful types of information that are to be made available through the ABS Clearing-House. Non-Parties are encouraged to make information available under the same conditions as Parties. 

Publishing information in the ABSCH should be easy. The CBD Secretariat operates a help desk to provide on-demand technical support, answer questions and receive feedback. The CBD Secretariat can also provide online webinars and face-to-face trainings. Please contact us (absch@cbd.int) for more information.

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