June 14 - 18, 2004 - ULRMC together with UNEP-WCMC and RIVM held an International Workshop for National Parties of the BINU Project in Yalta, Ukraine. Among 25 participants and members of the event were representatives from the Netherlands, Canada, Ecuador, Kenya, UK, USA, and Ukraine (ULRMC, State Administration of the Environment under the Ministry of the Environmental Protection of Ukraine, (branch of Autonomous Republic of Crimea) Yalta Mountain Reserve, Crimea Nature Reserve, etc.).

During the workshop participants shared and improved indicators for monitoring biological diversity that were developed by the four countries (Kenya, Ukraine, Ecuador and Philippines). They also discussed options for BINU- related work beyond 2004 and identified preliminary recommendations for indicators and for the development of a search system. The diversity of the participating countries resulted in diverse approaches and methodologies and "pushed" the process successfully forward. (The Ukrainian part of the BINU project, Agrobiodiversity, started in July 2002. It was very important for Ukraine to conduct this workshop in respect of supporting the development of biological diversity indicators at the global and regional level under the Convention on Biological Diversity.)

The participants of the International Workshop had an opportunity to take part in field trips to Yalta Mountain Reserve and to Baydar Valley. Additionally, participants were invited to attend a series of ad-hoc meetings on 'Biodiversity and Poverty' that were chaired by Tonnie Teckelenburg (RIVM).

The main tasks of the workshop were to review a) the objectives and outputs of the BINU project, b) project progress on Indicators Fact Sheets development since June 2003, c) progress on consulting and training services for potential users, and d) recommendations for more effective BINU Project implementation.

As a result of the workshop, participants developed outlines of their final reports, approved program activities for the period through December 2004 and prepared a draft plan of the BINU Project beyond 2004.