The science community in the origins and future of the IPBES

Hal Mooney

Ecological Society of America

August 9, 2012

A test run of this presentation to an enraptured group of leaders

IPBES-Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The variants on pronunciation—one delegate

used all three in one sentence in a presentation

I P BES

IP BES

I P B E S

Getting the knowledge needed--DIVERSITAS Assessing the knowledge in terms of global change consequences--ASSESSMENT HISTORY Better interface with the policy community--IPBES

Issues to be covered

Focused projects on critical biodiversity science issues Open Science Conferences Policy-Science interactions

DIVERSITAS

A Voice for Science in the Policy and Funding Realm

Early motivations--- 1) Addressing the green scum issue

2) Providing one-stop shopping for the policy community

3) Providing a platform for international cooperation among

biodiversity scientists

Phase 1 (1991-2000): Bringing the community together Phase 2 (2001-2010): An international framework for biodiversity science bioGENESIS, bioDISCOVERY, ecoSERVICES, bioSUSTAINABILITY, agroBIODIVERSITY, ecoHEALTH and freshwaterBIODIVERSITY Phase 3 (2011-2020): Biodiversity and ecosystem services science for a sustainable planet

DIVERSITAS—An international program of biodiversity science

Dr Anne Larigauderie Executive Director Dr Anne –Hélène Prieur-

Richard Deputy Director,

Prof Georgina Mace Chair, SC

Chairs of the DIVERSITAS projects, Representatives from each of the Sponsors (UNESCO, ICSU, IUBS, SCOPE) Representative of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Representative of the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Representative of the Global Earth Observation Biodiversity Observing Network (GEO BON), Chairs of the global environmental change programmes: Earth System Science Partnership - ESSP, International Human Dimensions Programme on global environmental change - IHDP, International Geosphere-Biosphere programme - IGBP, and World Climate research Programme - WCRP), and The DIVERSITAS Executive Director

Composition of the Scientific Committee of DIVERSITAS

US National Committee for DIVERSITAS

Margaret Collins, Executive Director, extraordinaire Lynelle Vidale, Program Associate

National Committees interface the international program with the national science policy community as well as the international governing bodies for global change programs

1995

2005

Assessment IPBES precursors

Biodiversity: Science &

Governance

• Paris declaration on biodiversity

• Call by the French President for a new international mechanism for biodiversity “similar to IPCC”, for climate (Jan 05)

• Call supported by the DIVERSITAS Oaxaca declaration (Nov 05)

• Launch of a consultation on a new International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMoSEB; Feb 06, ISC meeting, Paris)

Some of the players at the conference

Michele Loreau was chair of the scientific organizing committee for the Paris meeting as well as chair of DIVERSITAS

Charles Perrings, Arizona State University. Member of DIVERSITAS. Tireless supporter of IPBES process. Particularly pushed the concept of horizon scanning

Nature 442, 245-246 (20 July 2006) “Diversity without representation”

“For policymakers, biodiversity can present more complex challenges than climate change, argue Michel Loreau, Alfred Oteng-Yeboah and their co-authors. So why isn't there an international panel of experts for biodiversity?”

Didier Hoffschir, Ministry of Research and Education/Anne Larigauderie, DIVERSITAS

IMOSEB. International mechanism of scientific expertise on biodiversity (IMoSEB) Consultations • Montreal, Canada. January, 2007 • Yaounde, Cameroon. March, 2007 • Bejing, China. September, 2007 • Bariloche, Argentina. October, 2007 • Alotau, Papua New Guinea. October, 2007 • Montpellier, France. November, 2007 (final

steering committee meeting)

• First meeting of international steering committee, Paris, February, 2006

• Second meeting, Paris, December, 2006 Background document prepared for consultations

Anantha Duraiappah—Executive Director of the International Human Dimensions Program. Played a key role in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the MA Follow-up as well as in the development of IPBES

Led the initial MA Follow up initiative for UNEP

Specific recommendations from the MA follow-up partners and the IMoSEB consultation for the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services include:

a) Influence the Scientific Research Agenda: assessments of changes in the biosphere at multiple scales

b) Policy Support

c) Horizon Scanning d) Capacity Building

Outcome of MA follow-up and IMoSEB discussions delivered to CBD in May, 2008

UNEP/CBD/COP/9/INF/26 26 April 2008

Ad Hoc Intergovernmental and Multi-stakeholder Meetings on IPBES Putrajaya, Maylasia. November, 2008, Nairobi, Kenya. 2009, Busan, Korea. June, 2010 Plenaries of IPBES Nairobi, Kenya. October, 2011 Panama City, Panama. April, 2012

As the years go by

IPBES Kuala

Lumpur, Nov 08

Scientists participating in the 1st ad hoc meeting. In the center is a Brazilian diplomat who was very effective

Further input from the science community in the development of IPBES

Workshops hosted by governments and UNESCO and UNU to insure scientific inputs. These resulted in information documents for the intergovernmental process: 1) Knowledge Generation. Hosted by UNESCO and the US Anne Larigauderie and Doug Beard were organizers 2) Assessment structure. Hosted by UNU and the Japanese and South African Governments Anantha Duriaiappah and Hal Mooney were organizers

US Delegation at Panama. 2nd Plenary meeting. In back Doug Beard of USGS and Jeff Herrick USDA. In center, Christine Dawson, Chief negotiator

The political process moves very slowly

The Issues

1) Do we really need a new assessment process

2) Should it serve the CBD only 3) How critical is the capacity building

initiative 4) Who votes 5) Implementing agency--UN involvement 6) Home of the Secretariat

• Scientifically independent. Credible, relevant and legitimate.

• Policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive.

• Recognize regional contexts and needs

• Full and effective participation of developing countries

• Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach

• Respect the contribution of indigenous and local knowledge

• Address terrestrial, marine and inland water biodiversity and

ecosystem services and their interactions.

Busan Principles

Our Loss

Multi-stakeholder Plenary

Resolution: “We, the representatives of the Governments listed hereunder, assembled on the occasion of the second session of the plenary meeting to determine modalities and institutional arrangements for an IPBES (…) Decide to establish an independent intergovernmental body to be known as the IPBES”

IPBES established on 21 Apr. 2012!

Policy makers, stakeholders

Policy support

Assessments

Requests for information to the Plenary

Capacity building

Scientific & funding communities

Catalysing knowledge generation

gaps

1

2

3

4

Agreed--IPBES will have 4 functions

GEO BON

Mexico saves the day (actually the entire agreement and seven years of work) “delegates owe progress to Mexico who diplomatically circumvented the impasse by proposing another interim task—namely, that the first session of the IPBES “will decide on the link with the UN system.” (where a simple majority vote will prevail) This compromise allowed the plenary to adopt its final resolution and declare IPBES established”

www.iisd.ca/vol16/enb16104e.html

Jose Sarukhan, hero

Former Chair, SC, DIVERSITAS

What’s next and what you can do

Members of the platform are invited to propose

appropriate candidates for officers and members of

the Platform’s Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert

Panel (MEP)-- not later than 30th September 2012

Governments are invited to submit to the comments and

suggestions on those rules of procedure for meetings

of the plenary and operations of the Platform that

were not either agreed or considered in Panama by

August 16, 2012

Invited submissions by governments by August 16, 2012:

Capacity Building Needs and Activities Views on how requests to the Platform’s plenary might be received and prioritized by the Platform Views on the process that should be followed for scoping assessments and other activities of the Platform once they have been prioritized by the plenary

What’s next--continued

Documents to be provided by the Interim Secretariat for consideration at the next Plenary: Draft Conceptual Framework—During September, 2012 A draft background information document, highlighting options for regional structures for the MEP drawing on biogeographic regions will be made available for review online during September 2012,

Our Community made it all happen

Transition to Future Earth

DIVERSITAS projects’ chairs (1)

Tetsukazu Yahara, Kyushu University, Japan Co-chair of SC-bioGENESIS

Dan Faith, Australian Museum, Australia Co-chair of SC-bioGENESIS

Shahid Naem, Colombia University USA Chair of SC-ecoSERVICES

Paul Leadley, Université Paris-Sud, France Chair of SC-bioDISCOVERY

DIVERSITAS projects’ chairs (2)

Thomas Elmqvist, Stockholm University, Sweden Co-chair of SC-bioSUSTAINABILITY

Peter Daszak, ecoHEALTH Alliance USA Chair of SC-ecoHEALTH

Christian Körner, Basel University, Switzerland Chair of SC-GMBA

DIVERSITAS projects’ chairs (3)

Lijbert Brussaard, Wageningen University, The Netherlands Co-chair of SC-agroBIODIVERSITY

Louise E. Jackson, University of California USA Co-chair of SC-agroBIODIVERSITY