Stakeholder participation in IPBES: connecting local environmental work with global decision making

Cornelia B Krug,Eleanor Sterling,Timothy Cadman,Jonas Geschke,Paula F Drummond De Castro,Rainer Schliep,Isimemen Osemwegie,Frank E Muller-Karger,Tek Maraseni

doi:10.1080/26395916.2020.1788643

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services(IPBES) strengthens the science-policy interface by producing scientific assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services to inform policy. IPBES fosters knowledge exchange across disciplines, between researchers and other knowledge holders, practitioners, societal actors and decision makers working at different geographic scales. A number of avenues for participation of stakeholders across the four functions if IPBES exist. Stakeholders come from diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, businesses, and non-governmental organization. They represent multiple sources of information, data, knowledge, and perspectives on biodiversity. Stakeholder engagement in IPBES seeks to 1. communicate, disseminate, and implement the findings of IPBES products; 2. Develop guidelines for biodiversity conservation within member countries; and 3. create linkages between global policy and local actors – all key to the implementation of global agreements on biodiversity. This paper reflects on the role of stakeholders in the first work programme of IPBES (2014–2018). It provides an overview of IPBES processes and products relevant to stakeholders, examines the motivation of stakeholders to engage with IPBES, and explores reflections by the authors (all active participants on the platform) for improved stakeholder engagement and contributions to future work of the platform.

Highlights

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was cre ated in 2012 (Larigauderie 2015; for more details about the early stages of IPBES, see Larigauderie and Mooney 2010), recognizing the need for a science-policy interface for biodiversity (Chapason and van den Hove 2009)
Stakeholders are engaged via a grassroots efforts that contribute to IPBES assessments and facilitate the uptake and implementation of IPBES products
The organization and facilitation of expert dialogues and other capacity-building activities are con solidated by stakeholder networks, the Open-Ended Network of IPBES Stakeholders (ONet) and the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IIFBES)

Summary

Introduction

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was cre ated in 2012 (Larigauderie 2015; for more details about the early stages of IPBES, see Larigauderie and Mooney 2010), recognizing the need for a science-policy interface for biodiversity (Chapason and van den Hove 2009). IPBES is based on the findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and modelled after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Görg et al 2010; Koetz et al 2012). IPBES is an international, intergovernmental body that aims to gather, analyze, and critically eval uate knowledge on biological diversity from various institutions such as national governments and local authorities, universities, scientific organizations, nongovernmental organizations, as well as Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) As a science-policy interface, IPBES provides an interesting opportunity to explore the nature of the structures and processes of contem porary international environmental governance (Cadman 2011)

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Conclusion