IPBES Chair Sir Robert Walton released the following statement:
“The issue of gender is of paramount importance to IPBES, but we still have a long way to go to get balanced representation. I encourage all governments to nominate women to all IPBES structures and activities.”

While there clearly is a great deal of work remaining to better promote and elevate gender equality, one thing is certain: the work of IPBES would not be possible without the superb contributions and leadership of women.

The future is female!

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Group 1 has discussed issues of local and indigenous knowledge and the review of IPBES. Issues discussed include the scope of the review, who will conduct the review, budget considerations, and how the results of the review will be used.

Group 2, meanwhile, has discussed the pending assessments, the scope of the sustainable use of wild species scoping document and capacity building. Specific issues under consideration include which of the pending assessments should be prioritised and whether the pending assessments should be commenced—questions which garnered a great deal of debate and disagreement among member nations. As commencement of the pending assessments is very much dependent upon budget considerations, Group 2 will meet with the budget group today.

As the discussions within the contact groups are open negotiations, details of country positions and the issues discussed cannot be published on the blog.

The post IPBES5, Day 3: Contact Group Meetings appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

1. A values assessment
2. An assessment of invasive species
3. An assessment of sustainable use of wild species.

Each of these assessments would cost approximately $1 million USD and take three years to complete.

Numerous countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and the Africa Group have stressed the critical importance of these new projects and their immediate implementation in 2017. However, not all countries agree on which thematic area should be prioritized. Several countries, including Japan, Sweden and China see the values assessment as being critical for direction of future policy. The Africa Group and the CITES secretariat highlighted the importance of the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species.

Other nations, however, noted the great limitations on financial and human resources, and argued that beginning the pending assessments before the current assessments have been completed would not be prudent or advisable. Among these countries were Germany, the United States, and New Zealand. Several countries also pointed out that it may be worthwhile to wait for the results of the regional assessments so that these can be used in scoping the pending assessments. Norway suggested that this may result in more targeted assessment and prevent duplication of work.

Contact groups on budget and the pending assessments will meet this afternoon. The assessments group will have to discuss whether any of the pending assessments should start–if so, which one and when. The two contact groups will also have to meet with one another to determine how any further assessments can be funded.

Owing to the diverse views on all of these issues, discussions are likely to be lively. The Chair Sir Robert Walton noted that parties should be polite and friendly with one another.

The post IPBES 5, Day 2: Should pending IPBES assessments be started? appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

The pollination assessment has had a wide impact. It has been taken up by governments of member states, the FAO, the scientific community, and CBD among others. There is now a coalition of the willing on pollinators who are now acting to protect pollinators; collaborating, sharing information, providing funding for research etc. Other member states were invited to join this coalition of the willing.

Speakers emphasized the need to find synergies between work on climate change and biodiversity. Biodiversity will play a key role in both mitigation of emissions and adaptation to climate change. Country level integration of biodiversity into development and investment strategies and across sectors will be critical to achieving climate change goals and the SDGs – and time is short. We need to reduce emissions, increase resilience and have a long-term vision of stewardship for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Emphasis was placed on the need to strengthen partnerships across sectors. This will be key in the future as the traditional approach of dealing with biodiversity in isolation is not sufficient if goals e.g. Aichi targets are to be met.

Opening statements were made by speakers representing different regions. Most regions expressed enthusiasm and continued support for the IPBES. The USA, however, took a notably pessimistic tone. The United States representative regarded the goals and direction of IPBES as “overly ambitious”; emphasizing the need to focus on realistic goals based on the current budget, the USA stated that it would not support the start of any new assessments or activities unless others are eliminated.

The EU has requested enhanced observer states, similar to that which it maintains in the IPCC. This would enable active engagement in terms of right to speak and reply, and to provide financial support to IPBES. Although many countries supported this move, the Africa Group repeatedly expressed its opposition.

The post IPBES 5, Day 1: Getting Started appeared first on Global Change Ecology.