Engagement related to multilateral environmental agreements

Engagement with relevant bodies of multilateral environmental agreements related to biodiversity and ecosystem services has a very high priority for IPBES.

The rules of procedure for sessions of the Plenary of the Platform state that the chairs of the scientific subsidiary bodies of the multilateral environmental agreements related to biodiversity and ecosystem services and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be observers to the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel. The discussions of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel of IPBES regularly benefit from the presence of those chairs or their representatives.

The procedure for receiving and prioritizing requests put to IPBES, set out in decision IPBES-1/3, specifically states that “multilateral environmental agreements related to biodiversity and ecosystem services can send requests to the Platform on scientific and technical matters that require IPBES’ attention and action.” To date, two calls for requests, inputs and submissions have been launched (one for the first work programme of IPBES 2014-2018 and a first call for the development of the next IPBES work programme up to 2030) and requests from the relevant bodies of a number of multilateral environmental agreements have been received.

Several governing bodies of multilateral environmental agreements have developed procedures for or taken decisions regarding their engagement with IPBES, for example:

  • Decision 12/25, on IPBES, of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity;
  • Resolution Conf. 18.4, on Cooperation with IPBES, of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;
  • Decision 21/COP.13, on the Work programme of the Science-Policy Interface for the biennium 2018–2019, of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

Several governing bodies of multilateral environmental agreements have considered finalized IPBES assessments and other IPBES products.

In section III of its decision IPBES-4/4, the Plenary requested the Executive Secretary to finalize memoranda of cooperation between the secretariats of the individual multilateral environmental agreements related to biodiversity and ecosystem services and the secretariat of IPBES. The IPBES secretariat has concluded memoranda of cooperation with the secretariats of the following Conventions:

  • The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  • The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
  • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention)
  • The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)  
  • The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD)