The CONNECT Project: the expert group of the UNEP-WCMC

• CEBioS is part of the expert group of the UNEP-WCMC CONNECT project.

• The Connect Project is a multi-country, multi-partner initiative coordinated by United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

• Project Partners: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Birdlife International, Group on Earth Observations (GEOBON), South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and Prospex

• CONNECT has been created to ensure biodiversity is taken into account in decision making across government sectors by improving development decision makers’ access to and use of biodiversity information and embedding biodiversity information within national development decision making processes. The initiative is taking place in three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique, with implementation support from UN Environment. National partners come from relevant ministries, the scientific community, non-government organizations, civil society and local communities.