The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is now starting to produce results! At the upcoming meeting in late February in Kuala Lumpur, governments will review two reports. This includes a first “hard core” assessment dealing with pollination and pollinators associated with food production. Being a well-studied field, IPBES considered it relevant to make its first thematic assessment on pollinators. It caused some initial fuzz and some of the elected experts had connections to the pesticide industry, but rumors suggest that in the end the report will be balanced and based on solid science. Yet, it will be an interesting first case to see if the governments are ready to accept a text that does include some sensitive issues. The second report that is finalized is a methodological assessment on scenario analysis and modelling. This is likely to be a less controversial issue and represent a major undertaking. The basic report is more than 400 pages and will constitute an important reference for those initiating studies using models and scenarios for ecosystem services.
There are many other items on the agenda; some formal, but also some that might spark interesting discussions. A good bet is that the “guide regarding diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits” will be a hot topic. Here different world views, beliefs and perspectives on human-nature interactions will become visible. There is a preliminary version available, but the plenary are to decide whether to take this work further.
The plenary meeting will also follow up on the integration of stakeholder in IPBES. SCB together with a set of other organizations have worked on this during the last year and made significant progress. The progress is summarized and available at the IPBES webpage as document “IPBES/4/INF/16”. Being the main channel for scientific organizations, including SCB, the open-ended stakeholder network is central for engaging with IPBES. Both individuals and organizations may become included in the network and it is recommended to sign up (as soon as the secretariat provides the technical solution) as a stakeholder to get first-hand and updated information.
At the meeting several of the members of SCB's sub-committee on IPBES will be present, although only three will formally represent SCB. We are happy to note that Teuta Skorin was elected to the group arranging the stakeholder days prior to the plenary meeting. Yet another recognition of the importance of SCB in the work of IPBES. A report from the plenary will be provide in the newsletter in March.
Bege Jonsson
Head of the SCB subcommittee on IPBES
Please Note: If you are interested in participating in the IPBES Stakeholder Days, you must register before Feb. 5. Learn more.