First Work Plan and
Budget for The Intergovernmental Platform
for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) Approved
Antalya, Turkey, December 14, 2013 - The
groundbreaking Intergovernmental Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
today agreed to develop a set of assessments
on pollination and food production, land
degradation and invasive species aimed at
providing policymakers with the tools to
tackle pressing environmental challenges.
Around 400 delegates
from over 100 governments, scientific organizations,
civil society and the private sector, attended
the second meeting of the Platform in Antalya,
Turkey. IPBES Member Governments present
at the meeting adopted a very ambitious
initial work programme for the Platform
for the next five years, and demonstrated
strong commitment to its implementation
by already pledging more than half (US$
25.4 million) of the total US$ 43.5 million
required, in what will be remembered as
the "Antalya consensus".
FURTHER RESOURCES
The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
IPBES was established to assist governments
and the public to better understand the
trends and challenges facing the natural
world and humanity in the 21st century,
and thus promote human wellbeing and sustainable
development through the sustainable use
of biodiversity.
The first assessment,
to be available as early as December 2015,
will look at pollination and food production.
Studies show that some three quarters of
the world's crops depend on pollination
by bees and other pollinators for optimum
production. However, more information is
needed in order to fully understand how
pollination underpins food production and
assess the effectiveness of current policies.
A second assessment
will focus on the status of land degradation
and restoration worldwide, as well as the
effect this has on biodiversity, ecosystem
services and human wellbeing. According
to the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification, land degradation over the
next 25 years may reduce global food production
by up to 12 percent, resulting in an increase
of as much as 30 percent in global food
prices.
Over the next five years,
the sub-regional, regional and global scale
assessment and capacity building activities
undertaken by IPBES will strengthen the
science-policy interface at all levels.
In doing so, IPBES will
contribute to the objectives of the strategic
plans of the biodiversity-related multilateral
environmental agreements.
The Platform will also
support work on the integration of indigenous
and local knowledge in scientific processes,
and on valuation and accounting of biodiversity
and ecosystem services.
Overall, this work will
require contributions from thousands of
scientists from around the globe in the
fields of natural and social sciences, and
indigenous and local knowledge. They will
work together to synthesize cutting-edge
scientific information and produce tools
in order to support the creation of the
best possible policies.
Malaysian Zakri Abdul
Hamid, the first Chair of IPBES, noted that,
in addition to its recognition of indigenous
knowledge, a distinguishing characteristic
of the IPBES is its mandate to build the
capacity of developing countries to conduct
biodiversity science.
"There's an old
saying: We measure what we treasure,"
said Dr. Zakri. "Though we profess
to treasure biodiversity, most nations have
yet to devote or acquire the resources needed
to properly measure and assess it along
with the value of ecosystem services. Correcting
that is a priority assignment from the world
community to IPBES."
"The UN's 2015
Sustainable Development Goals, now under
consideration, are expected to include biodiversity-related
targets for achievement by 2030, together
with indicators of progress," added
Dr. Zakri, also recently appointed to the
UN Secretary-General's new 26-member Scientific
Advisory Board. To be effective, obviously,
it is vital that nations have the tools
and personnel to establish authoritative
scientific baselines and collect ongoing
data to know whether headway is being made
or not."
The second session of
the Plenary of IPBES also adopted a collaborative
partnership arrangement with the
United Nations Environment
Programme, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, the
Food and Agricultural Organization of the
United Nations and the United Nations Development
Programme. The arrangement is intended to
provide a framework for collaboration between
the four UN bodies and IPBES, recognizing
the anticipated roles of each of them in
providing specific support to IPBES.
The partnership agreement
and the full participation of the UN bodies
in IPBES will improve the dialogue between
policy-makers and the scientific community
on the critical role of biodiversity and
ecosystem services. By representing the
environment, the sciences, education, food
and agriculture, development, and capacity-building,
they will bring a range of expertise to
support decision and policy-making.
The meeting announced
that a French national, Anne Larigauderie,
formerly Executive Director of DIVERSITAS
and Head of Science in Society at the International
Council for Science (ICSU) has been appointed
as the Head of the IPBES Secretariat in
Bonn, Germany.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy
Executive Director of the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP):
"The decisions
taken at this meeting represent a milestone
in our efforts to counter the degradation
and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
A firm understanding of the complex processes
at play is essential to conserve these services
for future generations, and IPBES will help
ensure that countries have direct access
to sound scientific knowledge for development
planning and for the full integration of
ecosystem services in our accounting systems."
Ms. Maria-Helena Semedo,
Deputy Director-General, Coordinator Natural
Resources of the Food and Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations (FAO):
"As biodiversity
is key for food security, FAO is pleased
to be a partner of IPBES. The collaboration
between FAO and IPBES will contribute to
our joint efforts to safeguard the environment,
while adjusting and increasing food and
agriculture production for global food security
in a sustainable way."
Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
"More precise knowledge
of the status of biodiversity and of the
services it provides is an indispensable
precondition in order to change our attitudes
and behavior. UNESCO is pleased to be part
of IPBES and will continue to provide its
expertise in the sciences as well as in
education, culture and communication in
order to improve our knowledge of biodiversity
and stem its decline, thus ensuring sustainable
development and improving well-being for
all peoples in all cultures."
Mr. Magdy Martínez-Solimán,
Director, a.i., Bureau for Development Policy,
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
"UNDP is encouraged
by progress in the IPBES meeting this week
since this will help provide countries with
the sound scientific information to make
progress towards the next generation of
development goals. We know that ecosystems
provide invaluable services that underpin
development, particularly for the billions
of people worldwide who depend directly
on biodiversity for their livelihoods and
we welcome IPBES' focus on building capacity
to protect and manage this natural capital."
NOTES TO EDITORS
About IPBES
IPBES was established
in April 2012 in Panama City, Panama, and
currently has 115 Member States. The Platform
is an independent intergovernmental body,
open to all member countries of the United
Nations. The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) provides the Secretariat
for the Platform, which operates from Bonn
in Germany.
Biodiversity from terrestrial,
marine, coastal, and inland water ecosystems
provides the basis for ecosystems and the
services they provide that underpin human
wellbeing. However, biodiversity and ecosystem
services are declining at an unprecedented
rate and the world failed to reach the Convention
on Biological Diversity target of a significant
reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss
by 2010.
In order to address
this challenge, adequate local, national
and international policies need to be adopted
and implemented. To achieve this, decision
makers need scientifically credible and
independent information that takes into
account the complex relationships between
biodiversity, ecosystem services, and people.
They also need effective methods to interpret
this scientific information in order to
make informed decisions. The scientific
community also needs to understand the needs
of decision makers better in order to provide
them with relevant information.
IPBES was established
to this end. It provides a mechanism recognized
by both the scientific and policy communities
to synthesize, review, assess and critically
evaluate relevant information and knowledge
generated worldwide by governments, academia,
scientific organizations, non-governmental
organizations and indigenous communities.
More information on
IPBES, including Frequently Asked Questions
and key facts and figures on biodiversity
and ecosystem services, as well as opening
and closing remarks made at the meeting
is available at www.ipbes.net.