Further to Resolutions on the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (WCC-2012-Res-117) and on IUCN’s role in the Platform (WCC-2012-Res-118) adopted at the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress, we would like to draw your attention to three new opportunities for involvement with IPBES and provide you with a report on the IPBES 3rd plenary session.
IPBES seeks nomination of expert authors into three deliverables of its work programme (deadline 31 March 2015)
- Deliverable 2b – Regional and sub-regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex III) including components addressing land degradation & restoration, invasive alien species, and sustainable use :
- Americas regional assessment (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex V);
- Africa regional assessment (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex IV);
- Asia-Pacific regional assessment (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex VI); and
- Europe-Central Asia assessment (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex VII).
- Deliverable 3bi – Thematic assessment of land degradation & restoration (Decision IPBES/3/1 Annex VIII); and
- Deliverable 2c – Scoping of a global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
IUCN encourages interested experts across the IUCN Commissions, Secretariat, and Membership to seek nomination from their government’s IPBES focal point. The list of national focal points is available at http://www.ipbes.net/about-ipbes/national-focal-points.html.
Expert time dedicated to authorship and other roles in these assessment processes can be considered as in-kind support to IPBES.
Please note that interested experts (nominees) are requested to fill out their application, with curricula vitae, no later than 31 March 2015 in order to allow nominators (governments or organisations) to submit approved applications by 5 April 2015 at the latest. Some governments have established earlier deadlines, so if interested, please check with your national IPBES focal point as soon as possible.
All necessary information related to the nomination procedure can be found in the letter from IPBES Chair and in the online application form.
The IPBES Platform’s third meeting was held 12–17 January in Bonn, Germany
IPBES is now fully operational. The platform’s remaining rules and procedures were approved, including a conflict of interest policy, along with the stakeholder engagement strategy and communication strategy, and guidance on strategic partnerships.
IPBES-3 approved plans for a set of regional assessments in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia. These assessments are seen as contributing towards a planned global assessment to be completed by 2019. If you are interested in taking part in regional assessments, please refer to the call for experts detailed above.
IPBES-3 has also approved advancing the thematic assessments of invasive alien species, land degradation and restoration, and sustainable use by coupling these with the regional assessment process. Given this, it will be essential that nominations for regional assessments include experts for invasive alien species, land degradation and restoration, and sustainable use, along with regional specialists with other expertise. Thus, if you are interested in contributing to these thematic assessments, please also refer to the call for experts detailed above.
One other important outcome from IPBES-3 was the appointment of a new Multidisciplinary Expert Panel. You can find the list and resumes of the newly appointed MEP members on IPBES website.
Additional information
Information on IPBES and IUCN’s involvement in IPBES is regularly updated on the IUCN website. Calls issued by IPBES secretariat are systematically posted on Union portal, under the “opportunities” section. You are warmly encouraged to share your thoughts, experiences and opinions on the e-mail based IPBES Engagement Forum, aimed at advancing the involvement of scientists, conservation organizations, businesses and other civil society actors in IPBES.
For any additional clarification, please contact Laurence Perianin (IPBES focal point in IUCN).
