Supporting IPBES

IPBES – the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services – aims to solve a major and seemingly intractable problem – how to translate biodiversity and ecosystem information into effective policy responses to reduce biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.

The University departments and organisations within CCI collectively have a huge amount to offer to the IPBES process, including significant science and research capacity and capacity-building experience. Shared Challenges therefore helped to convene a meeting in April 2011 to discuss how CCI could capitalise on this opportunity and best engage with the process.

This meeting led to a successful application to the CCI Collaborative Fund for a project which involves almost all the CCI partner organisations and a range of University departments. The CCI IPBES Liaison Group was formed as a result, and for more information about the group’s activities, please go to the Collaborative Fund project page: Moving conservation into the mainstream: collaborative CCI action in support of IPBES

Project Aims

The original aim of this project was to gather people from across CCI together to inform them of the latest developments in IPBES and to discuss ways in which CCI could contribute to it through applying to the CCI Collaborative Fund. The CCI IPBES Liaison Group continues this discussion and aims to catalyze collective CCI engagement with this emerging process.

Key Activities

• CCI workshop: ‘Exploring opportunities to engage with IPBES’ (14th April 2011) Fourteen people came to a meeting to develop a project concept for the CCI Collaborative Fund.
• Collaborative Fund project: The Shared Challenges Programme has supported six CCI IPBES Liaison Group meetings between May 2011 and November 2012.
• CCI workshop: ‘Exploring future scenarios and opportunities for collaboration’ (19th June 2012) Following the IPBES preparatory meeting in Panama in April 2012, a series of discussions of four elements related to the IPBES work plan, where CCI has special relevance or expertise, began with a Shared Challenges workshop.

Conservation Impact

This project has catalyzed an increased awareness of IPBES across CCI organisations, including those that had not previously had the resource to follow developments or explore opportunities. In addition, this is one of the first times that CCI has come together to review the collective contribution it can make to a global initiative and this will provide valuable lessons and experience for future collaborative work.

• CCI-catalyzed-project-3-IPBES-Factsheet-26th-Nov-2012.pdf (PDF, 694.36 Kb)