Highlights and images for 9 December 2024

Stakeholder Day brought together scientists, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), and representatives of civil society organizations to exchange views on the issues on the agenda of the 11th Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 11). The daily event, supported by IUCN, moderated by Amarys Preuss, IPBES Secretariat, and Laura Perreira, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa, addressed, among other issues:

• the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments;
• stakeholder engagement and self-organized networks;
• the uptake of IPBES outputs in Africa; and
• the outcomes of the IPBES Youth Workshop 2024.

In opening remarks, IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie provided background information on the work programme of IPBES and focused on key items in the agenda of IPBES 11. She emphasized that IPBES’ products form a solid knowledge basis to inform decision making and are used by an increasing diverse set of users.

Marthin Kasoana, Namibia National Focal Point, stressed the importance of biodiversity as a foundation for life on Earth and in supporting livelihoods and cultural identities, highlighting conservation programmes at the national level that prioritize environmental stewardship.

On self-organized stakeholder networks, Franziska Fischer, Open-ended Network of IPBES Stakeholders (ONet) described ONet’s story as a strategy to enhance connection between IPBES stakeholders through inclusive self-organization.

Polina Shulbaeva, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IIFBES) stated that IIFBES is an open-ended caucus that delivers inputs to IPBES by Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) holders, supporting the dissemination of information and materials on IPBES products to IPLCs.

Rob Spaull, IPBES Secretariat, focused on opportunities and resources for further stakeholder engagement and communication, including communication tools, meeting opportunities, and uptake and impact, and highlighted main stakeholder engagement opportunities in 2025.

Participants then turned their attention to the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments. Pamela McElwee, Nexus Assessment Co-Chair, noted, among others, that the assessment nominated and selected 165 experts, and was produced over a period of three years, drawing on 6,500 sources of knowledge, including ILK. She underscored that the assessment provides decision makers with the best available evidence on the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change, and informs more integrated decisions and actions.

Lucas Garibaldi, Transformative Change Assessment Co-Chair, highlighted that the assessment involved 101 international experts from 42 countries, drawing on 7,000 references over three years. He emphasized that the assessment focuses on the underlying causes of the biodiversity crisis, as well as challenges and strategies for a just and sustainable world.

Florence Daguitan, Partners for Indigenous Knowledge, described the role of ILK in IPBES assessments, emphasizing the value of ILK dialogue workshops and the innovative role of IPBES in incorporating ILK in its assessments. She lamented that ILK is often interpreted through a scientific framework that may not always align with ILK itself.

David Obura, IPBES Chair, stressed the “everyday relevance” and tangibility of findings from both the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments for a sustainable and just future.

Gathuru Mburu, African Biodiversity Network, spoke about promoting uptake of IPBES outputs across Africa. He stressed that the Network mobilizes ILK through eco-cultural mapping and community ecological dialogues to develop concrete solutions to African biodiversity challenges, including by collaborating with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.

Regarding efforts to improve the effectiveness of IPBES, Douglas Beard, IPBES Vice-Chair, and Luthando Dziba, Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP) Co-Chair, discussed the periodic review of the effectiveness of IPBES and the review of its conceptual framework, focusing on the reviews’ internal and external components.

Following a coffee break, participants focused on promoting African uptake of IPBES outputs, listening to presentations by Isenemen Osemwegie, Capacity Development for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Experts (CABES); Lisa Biber-Freudenberger, LANUSYNCON; Steffanie Mantik, Future Rural Africa; and Judith Musa, Future Rural Africa. Among other things, they discussed:

• the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement in IPBES through capacity-building initiatives;
• how knowledge on biodiversity is co-produced and the impact of siloed decision making;
• contrasting perceptions of farmers and tourists on wildlife as influencing human-wildlife conflict in Southern Africa; and
• future human-nature relationships in rural Namibia.

In the afternoon, three youth panels presented on the outcomes of the IPBES Youth Workshop 2024, focusing on a set of strategies for transformative change contributing to IPBES and calling for action for a just and equitable future. By creatively presenting three future scenarios, ‘Blue Station’, ‘Our United Seas’, and ‘Cushy Country’, youth panelists shared the ideals of what these potential futures could look like.

Participants then broke into eight smaller rotating groups, conceived as ‘marketplace stations’ to informally discuss and learn more about: IPBES, IPBES external review, ONet, IIFBES, Bes-Net, Community of practice, the CABES program, and the RESPIN program.

Following these discussions, a session entitled “Why and How to Engage Stakeholders in IPBES: Inspiring stories and practical models” ensued. Mylor Ngoy Shutcha, University of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); Alice Kammwamba, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi; Matthew Davies, University of Cambridge, UK; and Orlando Vargas Rayo, Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, discussed:

• a national platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BioSE) in the DRC and regional trialogue organized by the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net);
• peer-to-peer ILK exchange across Africa;
• a Community of Practice for Crop (Bio)Diversity, and
• an international platform for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services through subnational workshops.

In the ensuing discussion, participants focused on: ILK and the modus operandi of workshops involving IPLCs; ways to ensure high-level political support for establishing national platforms for biodiversity conservation, including the kind of knowledge that activates decision makers; and terminology around “citizen science.”

In concluding remarks, IPBES Chair Obura stressed that Stakeholder Days portray “the impact of our work in the real world,” incorporating the views of, among others, IPLCs in IPBES work. Offering personal insights on how to bring different types of knowledge and perspectives together, Chair Obura emphasized that Stakeholder Day for IPBES 11 focused on the same priorities identified by the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments and included new stakeholders that will assist in taking up scientific information contained in the assessments and translate it into local and national contexts.

Stakeholder Day concluded with participants working in breakout groups to prepare the ONet and IIFBES opening statements for IPBES 11, starting on Tuesday, 10 December.