At COP 14

The CHM award will again be presented in November 2018, during COP 14 in Egypt. A notification was sent on 15 January 2018 inviting interested Parties to submit questionnaires for the award by 31 July 2018. The questionnaire is attached to the notification, and can be submitted via e-mail or preferably online. Online submission of the questionnaire allows the user to update the information on an on-going basis prior to the submission deadline.

Modalities for the Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM) Award at COP 14

Purpose

The purpose of the CHM Award is to formally recognize the Parties that have made the most significant progress in the establishment or further development of their national clearing-house mechanisms, and it is a way to encourage Parties to make further efforts to do so. This award will be granted through a certificate signed by the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Participation

Each existing national CHM will be assessed provided that the requested relevant information is submitted to the CBD Secretariat through the corresponding questionnaire.

Categories of Awards

There will be two categories of awards:

• One for Parties that had already established their national CHMs by COP 13.

• One for Parties that have established their national CHMs after COP 13 and prior to COP 14. Please refer to annex V in the notification to see in which category you national CHM will be assessed.

In each category, three awards will be granted:

1. The gold award for the winner.

2. The silver award for the second position.

3. The bronze award for the third position.

Certificates of Achievement

Upon recommendations of the Jury, the Executive Secretary may also a grant Certificate of Achievement to Parties that have made significant progress in the development of their national CHM between COP 13 and COP 14.

Jury

• A jury will be established by the Executive Secretary and will include some CHM-IAC members to ensure regional representation.

• Jury members who are Party representatives will not be allowed to assess their own national CHM.

• Guidance will be provided to jury members.