[No Title Available]

Abstract

The expected role of IPBES In June 2010, after 5 years of negotiation representatives of approximately 90 countries gathered in Busan, Korea, approved the formation of a new entity theIntergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services/IPBES. Specific discussions on IPBES started following the final meeting of the multi-stakeholder international steering committee for the consultative process on an International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMoSEB) in November 2007. The consultation towards IMoSEB decided to invite the Executive Director of UNEP-in collaboration with governments and other partners-to convene an intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder meeting to consider the establishment of an intergovernmental mechanism for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The Busan Outcome was welcomed by the 10th Conference of the Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity/ CBD in Nagoya in October 2010, and was subsequently considered at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). UNGA passed a resolution requesting UNEP to convene a plenary meeting to fully operationalize IPBES at the earliest opportunity. This resolution was then taken on board by UNEP in a decision at the 26th session of the UNEP Governing Council meeting, held in February 2011. The plenary meeting was held in two sessions. The first session was held from 3 to 7 October 2011 in Nairobi. The second session of the plenary was hosted by UNEP, in collaboration with UNESCO, FAO and UNDP, in Panama City from 16 to 21 April 2012. There, many of the modalities and institutional arrangements for the Platform were finalized and 94 Governments adopted a resolution establishing the Platform as an independent intergovernmental body. "Biodiversity from terrestrial, marine, coastal, and inland water ecosystems provides the basis for ecosystems and the services they provide that underpin human well-being. However, biodiversity and ecosystem services are declining at an unprecedented rate, and in order to address this challenge, adequate local, national and international policies need to be adopted and implemented. To achieve this, decision makers need scientifically credible and independent information that takes into account the complex relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and people. They also need effective methods to interpret this scientific information in order to make informed decisions. The scientific community also needs to understand the needs of decision makers better in order to provide them with the relevant information. In essence, the dialogue between the scientific community, governments, and other stakeholders on biodiversity and ecosystem services needs to be strengthened" (http://www.ipbes.net/about-ipbes.html). To this end, a new platform has been established by the international community-the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services/IPBES. was established in April 2012, as an independent intergovernmental body ope...