First MEA IKM Steering Committee Meeting

22-24 June 2010, Glion, Switzerland

Background

The MEA IKM initiative seeks to develop harmonized (interoperable) MEA information systems in support of knowledge management activities among MEAs for the benefit of Parties and the environment community at large. It was launched during the DELC MEA KM Meeting in Chexbres, Switzerland, 22-24 September 2009, when nine MEAs and partners discussed how to promote greater cooperation on information and knowledge management (IKM) issues. Participants recommended the development of a pilot project aiming to exchange data among the MEAs on 1) calendars/events, 2) COP decisions, 3) national contacts, and 4) official documents. It also recommended the establishment of a Steering Committee and a Working Group composed of MEA representatives to guide the implementation of the MEA IKM project.

Meeting Summary

The main purpose of this Steering Committee meeting was to review the progress made so far, particularly in the interoperability proof-of-concept, and determine the way ahead.

The Steering Committee judged the proof of concept to be a success. As shown during a live demonstration of the project, decisions and resolutions of participating MEAs related to finance and alien species could be displayed on a joint MEA portal called “InforMEA”. This presentation demonstrated how MEA COP decisions and resolutions can be harvested dynamically according to agreed terminology or simple keywords.

The meeting was addressed by four Executive Heads of MEAs who expressed their support for this MEA-led collaborative effort. It was further attended by 10 of the 12 participating MEAs and five of the seven observers involved in related IKM projects .

The meeting documentation and related references are available below. For further information, please contact Ms. Eva Durchschlag-Duer, Programme Officer, Knowledge Management Unit at UNEP/DELC (eva.duer@unep.org).