IUCN-WCC5 / 8 September, 2012SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND IPBESK A Z U H I KO TA K E U C H I
VICE RECTORU N I T E D N AT I O N S U N I V E R S I T Y

Intergovernmental science-policy Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services （IPBES）
Loss of Biodiversity

Reduction ofEcosystem Services

Peculiar to Regions

Insufficiency of Information

Difficulty to respond

Various factors

Difficulty on understanding
the Status

Insufficiency ofMeasures

Compound Factors

Difficulty on Prediction

Insufficiency of Abilities

Necessity of strengthening links between science andpolicy on biodiversity to enable science based policy development

Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
UNEP 3rd Intergovernmental Meeting (June, 2010)
Agreement on establishment of IPBESIPCC for
Biodiversity

CBD-COP10 (October, 2010)
Decision on encouraging the UN General Assembly toconsider for early establishment of IPBES
65th UN General Assembly (December, 2010)
UNEP Governing Council (February, 2011)
Adoption of resolution related to IPBESAssessment

knowledge
generation
Function ofIPBESCapacitybuilding

Policy support

Establishment of IPBES (April, 2012)
Actual start of activity for IPBES

2

IPBES and Scientific communities
Policy makers,stakeholders

3

Policy support

Requests for
information to thePlenary

4Capacitybuilding

1

Assessmentsgaps

2
Catalysing knowledge generation

Scientificcommunities

3

Structure of IPBES(Outcomes of the Panama meeting in April 2012)
Plenary：
Decision making body of the Platform
Open to UN States Members as Members, and to Observers.
Bureau：Observing administrative functions
Comprised of Chair, 4 vice-chairs and 5 additional members
Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP）:
Overseeing scientific and technical functions
Interim composition of 5 members from each UN region,plus Chairs of MEA scientific subsidiary bodies and IPCC asobservers.
4

Other Institutional and Operating Issues*Funding- agreed that a core trust fund be established toreceive voluntary contributions*Budget- no discussion during the plenary meeting*Working groups- no discussion on delivery mechanism
for the work programme during the plenary meeting5

IPBES ASSESSMENT GLOBAL SURVEY(JAN 8TH – FEB 1ST 2012)
Survey goal: Seek feedback on– Assessment component of IPBESSurvey statistics– Governance structure ofimplementationTOTAL
Target audience:– UNEP, DIVERSITAS, ICSU, IUCN, IHDP,World Climate Research Program(WCRP), International Geosphere andBiosphere Program (IGBP) and theUnited Nations University (UNU)– NGOs or government employees
involved in environmental policy work
– Attendees of first session meeting ofthe IPBES in Nairobi

Email Sent

6,841

Undeliverable
Incomplete
Surveys282

CompletedTOTALRESPONSES

1,551
1,607
3,158

[Source]
Jaya Sinnathamby (2012) IPBES Assessment Survey Results, 2nd Tokyo Workshop on IPBES Assessment, Tokyo, 27 February 2012.

6Importance of trans-disciplinary approach:reflected in the MEP
94% of respondents feel it is very important or important for IPBES to have a transdisciplinary approach that engages both natural and social scientists in performing
assessments

Importance of other knowledge systems:

reflected in the MEP

84% consider it to be important or very important for IPBES to embrace otherknowledge systems

7

Spacial Structure:

to be discussed at the Plenary• 33% of respondents clearly prefer spatial organization by eco-regions over the otheroptions• 20% favor a combination of the spatial organizations• The least favored was Biomes8INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE WORKSHOP ON
ASSESSMENTS FOR THE IPBESIPBES is designed to become the pre-eminent and authoritative
source of international assessment in the area of biodiversity andecosystem services.
The challenge for IPBES assessments is to reflect multi-scale,spatial and temporal dimensions, as well as the interactions
between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being.
The 2nd Scientific Workshop on IPBES Assessment (Tokyo, 27-29
Feb 2012) suggested ways for the process and coordination ofassessment to capture both local variations and macro-level
patterns and processes, incorporating indigenous and local
knowledge as well as formal scientific data.
IPBES includes several innovations to better address the urgent
and changing needs of policymakers, including thematic
assessments, preliminary assessments, and a more policy-oriented
scenario approach.
9