Invitation to IPBES meetings

To IPBES Stakeholders,
The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services are fundamental to the well-being of current and future generations. Yet the depletion and degradation of natural resources is increasingly destroying the life support systems on which people depend.
How are governments, experts and stakeholders working together, through IPBES, to address these critical issues? How can you contribute as an individual or an organisation to the IPBES process to enrich assessment outcomes and contribute to implementing the work programme and recommendations of the IPBES Plenary?
In order to address these questions and many others, Stakeholder Days, open to all members, observers and other stakeholders of IPBES, have been organized in advance of each session of the Plenary as opportunities for a wide range of interested organizations to get updates on the IPBES process and to discuss their engagement in IPBES through an exchange of views on specific aspects of the plenary session agendas. As outcomes of these meetings, positions on key issues related to stakeholder engagement have been jointly prepared and delivered to the Plenary session by way of a statement by stakeholders.
Convened by the IPBES secretariat, with technical support from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and facilitated by the IPBES Open-Ended Network of Stakeholders, a one-day stakeholder meeting will take place on Monday, 6 March 2017, prior to the 5th IPBES Plenary session (which will be from Tuesday 7 to Friday 10 March 2017), at the venue of the Plenary session, the World Conference Centre Bonn, Germany.

This meeting aims to:

• Provide an opportunity to better understand IPBES activities and processes, and get information on IPBES on-going assessments;
• Exchange views on Plenary agenda items;
• Discuss stakeholder engagement with a focus on the contributions stakeholders can make in support of the IPBES work programme;
• Discuss the structure and functioning of the stakeholder networks; and
• Coordinate action to maximize stakeholder input into IPBES-5.  

A registration process, separate from IPBES-5, is required to attend the Stakeholder Day. Stakeholders – including national delegates to the IPBES Plenary session - who want to participate are kindly requested to register here before 28 February 2017. Should you need more information please contact the IPBES-5 Stakeholder Day project team via email (IPBES5stakeholderday). Participants should note that no financial support is available, although an invitation letter can be provided for visa purposes. We will ‘livestream’/ ‘webcast’ the Stakeholder Day to enable the widest possible range of participants. The event will be held in English without interpretation.

You can find the provisional agenda here.

IAP encourages its memebr academies with an interest in biodiversity and ecosystem services to identify suitable individuals who can attend these meetings.