Review and planning of activities with

IPBES

Anastasia Brainich - IPBES Secretariat

• Introduction to IPBES

• Land degradation and Restoration

Assessment (LDRA)

• How to get involved in the science-

policy interface

Structure of presentation

Establishment of IPBES

• Established in April 2012, Panama

• Objective: To strengthen the science-policy interface for

biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and

sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being

and sustainable development

• Currently 124

Members

• Secretariat hosted

in Bonn, Germany

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

4 functions of IPBES

IPBES was established with four agreed functions:

• AssessmentDeliver global, regional and thematic assessments

on biodiversity and ecosystem services

• Policy support

tools

Identify policy relevant tools/methodologies, facilitate

their use, and promote and catalyse their further

development

• Capacity

building

Prioritize key capacity building needs, and provide

and call for financial and other support for priority

needs

• Knowledge

generation

Identify knowledge needs of policymakers, and

catalyse efforts to generate new knowledge

Secretariat (including Technical Support Units)facilitate and support process

Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP)

Responsible for carrying out the scientific and

technical functions of the work programme

Bureau

Responsible for overseeing the

administrative functions of IPBES

Plenary: Decision-making body

Responsible for the overall work programme, working through Bureau and MEP

Task forces on capacity-building,

knowledge and data, and indigenous

and local knowledge

Expert groups for assessments,

policy support tools and other studies

Key structures of IPBES

Nomination / Peer-Review by Experts, Governments, Stakeholders and

Organizations

IPBES Conceptual Framework

Díaz et al. 2015 Plos Biology 13(1)

Díaz et al. 2015 COSUST 14

IPBES Conceptual Framework

Structure of the

work programme

Objective 1: Strengthen the capacity and knowledge foundations of

the science-policy interface to implement key IPBES functions

Objective 2:

Regional and global

assessments

Objective 3:

Thematic and methodo-

logical assessments

Objective 4: Communicate and evaluate

IPBES activities, deliverables and findings

Objective 4 Communicate and evaluate Platform activities, deliverables and findings: a) Catalogue of relevant assessments

b) Development of an information and data management plan

c) Catalogue of policy support tools and methodologies

d) Set of communication, outreach and engagement strategies, products and processes

e) Reviews of the effectiveness of guidance, procedures, methods and approaches to inform future development of the Platform

Objective 1 Strengthen the capacity and knowledge foundations of the science-policy interface to implement key functions of the Platform: a) Priority capacity-building-needs to implement the Platform work programme are matched with resources through catalysing financial and in-kind

support b) Capacities needed to implement the Platform work programme are developed with support provided by network on capacity-building c) Procedures and approaches for working with indigenous and local knowledge systems d) Priority knowledge and data needs for policy-making are addressed through catalysing efforts to generate new knowledge and networking

Objective 2 Strengthen the SPI across the subregional, regional and global levels: a) Guide on production and integration of

assessments from and across all scales

b) Regional/Subregional assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services

c) Global assessment on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Objective 3 Strengthen the SPI regarding thematic and methodological issues: a) Thematic assessment on pollination and food production

b) Thematic assessments on land degradation and restoration; on invasive alien species; and on sustainable use.

c) Policy support tools and methodologies for scenarios analysis and modelling of biodiversity and ecosystem services based on an assessment and a guide

d) Policy support tools and methodologies regarding the diverse conceptualization of value of biodiversity and ecosystem services based on an assessment and a guide

4 Objectives and 18 Deliverables

• Introduction to IPBES

• Land Degradation and Restoration

Assessment (LDRA)

• How to get involved in the science-

policy interface

Structure of presentation

Land Degradation and

Restoration Assessment

At the second session of the Plenary (IPBES-2) held in

Antalya, Turkey (December 2013) member States approved

the initiation of scoping for a thematic assessment of land

degradation and restoration (LDR)

The expert group met in Beijing (September 2014), to develop

the scoping document

Approved the assessment of land degradation and

restoration, to be delivered at IPBES 6 (early 2018)

(Decision IPBES-3/1, January 2015)

Selection of Experts

- Follows the decision IPBES-2/3 and decision IPBES-2/5

- Following the approval of Plenary of a scoping document, the MEP requested nominations from Governments and invite relevant stakeholders to present names of experts to assist with the scoping/assessment

- Experts are selected based on their expertise, knowledge and credentials on specific issues

- Experts reflect a range of scientific, technical and socio-economic views + geographical representation; diversity of knowledge systems; & gender balance.

Expert Group:

2 Co-Chairs: Robert Scholes and Luca Montanarella

18 Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs)

26 Lead Authors (LAs)

plus

38 LDR Lead Authors in Regional/Subregional assessments (9-10

in each: Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia)

Time schedule:

Start at IPBES-3 in January 2015

3 Authors Meeting in September 2015, August 2016, July 2017

Finalisation at IPBES-6 in March 2018

LDR Assessment

Scope

- Degraded land: the state of land which results from the

persistent decline or loss in biodiversity and ecosystem functions

and services that cannot fully recover unaided within decadal

time scales

- Land degradation: the many processes that drive the decline or

loss in biodiversity, ecosystem functions or services, and

includes the degradation of all terrestrial ecosystems (incl.

associated aquatic ecosystems that are impacted by land

degradation)

- Restoration: any intentional activity that initiates or accelerates

the recovery of an ecosystem from a degraded state

- Rehabilitation: restoration activities that may fall short of fully

restoring the biotic community to its pre-degradation state,

including natural regeneration and emergent ecosystems.

Approved Chapter structure

• Chapter 1- Benefits to people from avoidance of land degradation and restoration of degraded land

• Chapter 2 - Concepts and perceptions of land degradation and restoration

• Chapter 3: Direct and indirect drivers of land degradation and restoration

• Chapter 4. Status and trends of land degradation and restoration and associated changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functions

• Chapter 5: Land degradation and restoration associated with changes in ecosystem services and functions, and human well-being and good quality of life

• Chapter 6: Responses to avoid land degradation and restore degraded land

• Chapter 7: Scenarios of land degradation and restoration

• Chapter 8: Decision support to address land degradation and support restoration of degraded land

Geographic coverage of the

assessment

The assessment will encompass all the terrestrial regions

and biomes of the world, recognizing that land degradation

drivers and processes can vary in severity within regions

and countries as much as between them.

The assessment will encompass the full range of human-

altered systems, including but not limited to drylands,

agricultural and agroforestry systems, savannahs and

forests, and aquatic systems associated with these areas.

• Introduction to IPBES

• Land Degradation and Restoration

Assessment (LDRA)

• How to get involved in the science-

policy interface

Structure of presentation

• The land degradation assessment will identify as possible partners organizations that can contribute their data and knowledge; provide in-kind support; act as clients and users of the assessment; and provide assistance at various stages, including by helping to review the assessment. The partnerships entered into will mostly be informal, but a limited number of strategic partnerships may be established.

• Collaboration will be developed, in particular with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, especially its science-policy interface and its Committee on Science and Technology, as a key user of and a key contributor to the assessment on land degradation. Collaboration should also be developed with the Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, which is to produce a first report on the state of the world’s soil resources by 5 December 2015.

Strategic Partnership and

Initiatives

Already on-going:

Assessment on Land Degradation and Restoration (LDR)

4 Regional/Subregional assessments on BES

Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia

Now starting:

Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BES)

Catalysing the further development of scenarios and models for biodiversity and ecosystem services

Get Involved!

Get involved!

Global Assessment:

-> Nominations of experts: March-May 2016 (10 weeks)

Selection (by MEP): June 2016

1st authors meeting: 15-19 August 2016

…

Land Degradation and Restoration / Regional Assessments:

-> 1st peer-review of Draft Assessment Report: 30 May – 11 July 2016 (6 weeks)

2nd peer-review of Draft Assessment Report and SPM: May-June 2017 (8 weeks)

Get involved!

Catalysing the further development of scenarios and models for biodiversity and ecosystem services:

Developing scenarios & models for biodiversity and ecosystem services

building on shared socioeconomic pathways being catalysed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

-> contributions will be sought for (participation or peer-review)

Assessment Process

Plenary Plenary

Expert group

SCOPING EXPERTS

Bureau & MEP

Nomination

GOVERNMENTS & STAKEHOLDERS

1 year

scoping assessment

Expert group

ASSESSMENT AUTHORS& REVIEW EDITORS

Plenary

Bureau & MEP

Peer Review

EXPERTS

Peer Review

GOVERNMENTS & EXPERTS

Nomination

GOVERNMENTS & STAKEHOLDERS

3 years

writing assessment

Peer Review

GOVERNMENTS & EXPERTS

Also…

Contributing Authors for LDRA:

Chapter 3 (drivers):

– Mineral resource extraction

– Infrastructure, industry, urbanization

Chapter 5 (ecosystem services):

– Regulation of waste and biochemical cycles

Chapter 7 (scenarios):

– Stock-taking of local scenarios

***Regions: Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Western Africa***

Chapter 3. Direct & indirect drivers of

LDR

- assess how LDR is the result of multiple drivers, involving both direct

anthropogenic and natural factors and interactions between them, as well as

underlying indirect drivers

- Direct drivers of degradation

- Direct drivers of restoration

- Indirect drivers of land degradation and restoration are related to institutions

and governance systems, as well as social, cultural, technological and economic

factors, including poverty, which underpin direct drivers, at the local to global

levels.

- assess the extent and severity of different drivers and how they vary within

and between different biomes, regions and land-use systems around the world.

- The assessment of direct drivers will include anthropogenic drivers at global,

national, regional and local scales, including human-driven climate change,

as well as natural drivers, and interactions between anthropogenic and natural

drivers. Particular attention will be paid to climate change and its interaction with

other anthropogenic drivers of land degradation, including interactions between

processes of land degradation and extreme weather events.

Chapter 5. LDR associated w/ changes in

ecosystem services and functions, HWB & good

QoL

- the impacts of LDR on changes to the delivery of nature’s benefits to

people, and the resultant impacts on QoL.

- will assess land degradation associated with the loss of benefits to

people including provisioning services, such as food production, quality

and quantity of water resources, & availability of raw materials, as well as

regulating, cultural services, and other aspects of nature, recognizing

diverse conceptualization of values of nature.

- will analyse changes in benefits to people in terms of the relative

contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem structure and functioning

- will consider the diverse costs of land degradation and benefits of

restoration for people, including the overall economic and non-economic

costs and benefits

- Will examine the type, extent and severity of these changes in

different social-ecological systems and under different land cover

and land management systems, including their implications for social

and ecological stability and resilience, and cultural integrity.

Chapter 7. Scenarios of land

degradation & restoration

- will explore the implications of a range of plausible development scenarios, including the adoption of different response options across multiple scales, and their implications for land degradation and restoration globally, including impacts on human well-being and quality of life, and possible trade-offs between social, economic and environmental objectives.

- Scenarios will be developed using information derived from the assessment and work from across the IPBES

- will reveal the variation in plausible LDR futures that depend on choices (with associated social and economic implications) made at the landscape, regional, national, regional and international scales to address indirect and direct drivers, and introduce new mechanisms to avoid land degradation, mitigate its impacts, and rehabilitate and restore degraded sites.

More information in general:

www.ipbes.net

More information on Land Degradation & Restoration Assessment

Progress report on the implementation of the land degradation and restoration assessment (IPBES/4/INF/11) (available online)

Anastasia Brainich (providing technical support)anastasia.brainich@ipbes.net

More information