UK IPBES Stakeholder Engagement Hub
This section describes forthcoming and past engagement
opportunities for UK stakeholders. If you have any
comments on the UK stakeholder engagement process or on any other
related matters please send correspondence to
.
To register your interest in and join the UK IPBES
stakeholder network please complete the form
>>>.
Future UK Stakeholder engagement will be announced through these
pages.
Current Events/Consultations
Expert Meeting Identifying Scientific and Technical Needs
Related to the CBD and IPBES, JNCC, Peterborough, 18th March
2013
A decision at CBD COP11set out a process
for collecting information on the identification of
scientific and technical needs related to the implementation of the
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Targets. As
part of this information collecting process the CBD issued a
request for information from Parties.
Defra and JNCC arranged a meeting of
experts to gather a wide range of views and opinions on the
scientific and technical needs related to the CBD and IPBES.
The meeting took the form of a workshop, broken down into working
groups, considering the CBD Strategic Plan Goals and the needs of
IPBES.
The meetings outcomes have been used to
identify priority scientific and technical needs to support
implementation of the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity,
strategic priorities for assessments, policy support tools, and
capacity building that might be submitted as requests to
IPBES.
The response to Notification
(SCBD/STTM/DC/ac/81207) on identification of scientific and
technical needs related to the implementation of the Strategic Plan
for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets can
be viewed here.
The report on requests to IPBES on
scientific and technical matters can be viewed
here.
UK Comments Submitted to the Intersessional Process Towards
IPBES-2
The UK has prepared a number of comments on
the intersessional process towards IPBES-2. These include
comments on: requests,
inputs and suggestions put to the platform; MEP regional
approach; conceptual
framework to guide the work programme; and
determining a scoping process for assessments.
Submissions from other members of the Platform can be viewed on the
IPBES website
here.
Expert Workshop on Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems to
IPBES
The International Expert and Stakeholder
Workshop on the Contribution of Indigenous and Local Knowledge
Systems to IPBES: Building Synergies with Science, will be held
from 9 - 11 June 2013, in Tokyo, Japan. The objectives of the
workshop are to examine and identify procedures and approaches for
working with indigenous and local knowledge systems in the
framework of IPBES; and to review and assess possible conceptual
frameworks for the work of IPBES that are based on or accommodate
indigenous and local knowledge systems and worldviews. The workshop
is part of the on-going intersessional process leading up to the
second session of the Platform's Plenary (IPBES-2).
Key Points from First IPBES Plenary Meeting, 21 -26
January 2013, Bonn
- Prof M. Zakri (Malaysia) was elected chair of IPBES for the
first 3 year term by consensus, with backing from G77 and
China.
- Sir Robert Watson (UK) was elected as one of four vice-chairs,
representing the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG). It was
agreed (in the record of the meeting) that the WEOG vice-chair
(Prof. Watson) would take the second term of chair of IPBES, on
rotation. Ivar Baste (Norway) was elected as the other Bureau
member representing WEOG. Sir Robert’s leading role in the
establishment of the Platform was widely acknowledged in the
closing session.
- 25 positions on the interim Multi-disciplinary Expert Panel
(MEP) were elected. Five strong experts were elected from the 33
WEOG nominations; though no UK candidates were successful. Some
governments took the view that countries with representatives
elected to the Bureau should not also be represented on the MEP.
Concerns were expressed about the lack of disciplinary and gender
balance overall and, in a few cases, the experience of the MEP
nominees. As a result, selection procedures will be
reviewed.
- An ambitious schedule of intersessional work for the MEP,
Bureau and Secretariat was agreed. This will include development of
the work programme, a stakeholder engagement strategy, procedures
for scoping, and preparation and review of reports. The UK offer to
provide financial support for an expert workshop to develop a
conceptual framework was accepted.
- The secretariat will issue an invitation to governments,
multilateral environmental agreements and other stakeholders to
submit requests for issues to be considered in prioritisation of
the work programme at the second Plenary meeting.
- Voluntary funding pledges were made by 15 countries including
Germany, UK, France, Norway, Switzerland, US, Canada, China and
South Africa; amounting to US$3.3m in 2013 with more offers yet to
be quantified. Expenditure of US$3.1m was agreed in the 2013
budget, including two meetings of the plenary and the recruitment
of a head and four other permanent secretariat posts.
- It was agreed that the secretariat (based in Bonn, Germany)
would be provided by UNEP, and that UNEP would establish a
collaborative partnership arrangement with UNESCO, UNDP and FAO to
support the work of IPBES and its secretariat. The issues of
further formal links to the UN and establishment of a Trust Fund
were deferred.
- No agreement was reached on the policy for admission of
observers. Argentina and China insisted that a single member of
IPBES could request an observer to be ejected, whereas EU insisted
that one third of the membership would be needed. In the absence of
agreement it is expected that rules governing the current meeting
will continue to apply.
- The proposed EU terms for membership of the platform by
regional economic integration organisations were not accepted by
other IPBES members and EU were only able to participate in the
meeting as observers. The Commission intervened to say that as a
non-member they would not be able to contribute funds to
IPBES.
- The EU and Member States participated in the meeting following
agreed ad-hoc ‘practical arrangements’ whereby Member States could
support and supplement the EU position. Other Member States seemed
cautious of this arrangement but the UK took advantage to
participate actively and effectively in negotiations on the future
work programme. The Irish Presidency team were very effective at
leading and supporting EU discussions, and representing the EU. The
Commission generally took a low profile.
- On the whole the meeting was positive and business like with
the 105 state members of IPBES working hard to find constructive
solutions and moving towards the full operationalisation of the
Platform by the 2nd Plenary meeting. Provisionally this is planned
for December 2013, but there were some views that this timetable
was not achievable given the large amount of intersessional work
that had been requested by the Plenary. The World Conference Centre
Bonn was an excellent meeting venue.
The full report of the first session of the IPBES Plenary can be
viewed here.
IPBES Catalogue of Assessments
A Catalogue of Assessments has been created to
support the work of the IPBES. The Catalogue has been
produced to learn lessons from existing and ongoing assessment
processes so as to inform the future development of IPBES.
The Catalogue currently contains some relevant assessments
from the UK and the JNCC IPBES team are working on ensuring a range
of relevant assessments are included from the UK and the UK’s
Overseas Territories. You can access the IPBES Catalogue of
Assessments by following this link.
First Meeting of the Platform's Plenary (IPBES-1)
The first meeting of the Platform's Plenary
(IPBES-1) will be held in Bonn, Germany from 21 to 26 January
2013. Regional and stakeholder consultations will take place
one day prior to the meeting on Sunday, 20 January 2013.
The meeting will aim to agree on the
remaining rules of procedures for the meetings of the platform,
consider other rules of procedure for the platform, elect Bureau
and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel members, and agree on the next
steps by which the IPBES work programme can become operational as
soon as possible. IPBES-1 will be a meeting of Members of the
Platform's plenary, with observers
A report of the first session of the
plenary can be viewed here.
Updated: 25 May 2013