Outcomes of the experts meeting on the future Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

This informal meeting was organized by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and supported and hosted by UNESCO.

In terms of institutional arrangements and modalities, participants:

• identified a number of functions considered as key for science, which should be assigned to the governing structure;
• supported the establishment of an Executive Committee in order to allow IPBES to address urgent issues between plenary meetings; and
• recommended that the governing structure allows representation of key stakeholders, beyond the science and policy communities.

In terms of the generation of knowledge function, participants suggested:

• that an IPBES scoping process could be established in order to identify and prioritize knowledge needs of policy makers;
• that knowledge gaps dialogues could be organized in order to catalyze efforts to generate new knowledge; and
• that a knowledge generation strategy was needed for the scientific community to address needs for new knowledge in a strategic way.

 
These conclusions will be offered as a contribution to future discussions at the two sessions of the IPBES Plenary meeting (3-7 October, and early 2012).

Related links:

• Meeting announcement and details  
• IPBES website