The Philippines has won the gold award for making the “most significant progress” in developing its existing national Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM) website, making biodiversity information accessible in the country.

The CHM serves as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) platform for information sharing.

Through CHM websites, significant data are made available to help policymakers make science-based biodiversity-relevant laws and regulations.

The awarding ceremony was held during the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (CBD COP 15) in Canada last Dec. 18, 2022.

Other awardees were Malaysia (bronze) and Mexico (silver).

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations CHM, on the other hand, received a certificate of achievement as an existing regional CHM.

The ASEAN CHM serves as a single point of access to the national CHMs of the 10 ASEAN member states.

It also offers a variety of services, such as biodiversity information and tools and resources for capacity development, to assist the ASEAN member-states with conservation planning, monitoring, and decision-making.

It highlights the regional status of protected areas, among other regional assessments that can be utilized as a foundation for the prioritization and conservation of species and protected areas.

In a media release, CBD Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said the CHM awards were given to recognize parties with the most significant progress in the establishment and further development of their national and regional CHM platforms and to encourage other countries to do the same.

Awardees were chosen based on the criteria of the CHMs’ content, online services, layout and functionality, visibility and usage, content management, and governance. (PNA)