IPLCs

Highlights for Friday, 29 November 2019 SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz Delegates to the 23rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 23) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), concluded their deliberations, approving draft recommendations to the Conference of the Parties (COP) on: the links between nature and culture; new and emerging issues; biodiversity and climate change; Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean; sustainable wildlife management; technical and scientific cooperation; and the scientific and technical base of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Lengthy deliberations took place under the agenda items on biodiversity and climate change, technical and scientific cooperation, and the post-2020 framework. The final recommendations on nature and culture, and climate change and biodiversity contain bracketed text. In closing remarks, Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge of the CBD Secretariat, thanked all participants for their collaboration, flexibility, and perseverance. She pointed out that the technical and scientific evidence base has been further strengthened to provide essential guidance for the development of the post-2020 framework. She expressed her confidence that in cooperation with partner conventions, institutions, and stakeholders, renewed biodiversity goals and targets can be agreed on in time. Suriname, for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), stressed the importance of healthy ecosystems for poverty eradication, food security, and essential ecosystem services, emphasizing they represent an important element of identity and culture. She called for necessary capacity building, scientific and technical assistance, and technology transfer to support SIDS. The EU noted the recent alarming scientific reports on biodiversity loss, stressing that SBSTTA 23 results will support the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to craft a robust and ambitious post-2020 framework. Lao People’s Democratic Republic, for Asia-Pacific, emphasized the importance of benefit-sharing from the utilization of genetic resources, and stressed the need to scale up action on pollution and marine debris. She further underscored the need for capacity building, technology transfer, and resource mobilization to implement the post-2020 framework.Noting that the science “shows that the threat is serious,” Iceland, also for Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, and Switzerland, regretted that the document on biodiversity and climate change retains some brackets, but concluded that the recommendation under this item signifies “significant progress.” Belarus, for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), appreciated participants’ “active” presence in the process, and noted the importance in concluding the first cycle of EBSAs. Bahamas, for GRULAC, expressed their concern with the progress in the negotiations, and hoped for a more “planned and structured dialogue” on the “most relevant” parts of the framework in the future. Noting that biodiversity and its loss must be recognized as a global priority, she recalled the importance of synergizing work on biodiversity and climate change. Cameroon, for the African Group, emphasized the deliberations on technical and scientific cooperation in support of the post-2020 framework, and highlighted advice to the Co-Chairs of the OEWG on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework on direct and indirect drivers and on the need to give equal attention to all three objectives of the Convention.SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz (Mexico) thanked delegates and participants for a successful meeting. Convinced that “2020 is going to be a super year,” he gaveled the meeting to a close at 10:28 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WG8J 11 and SBSTTA 23. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meetings in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page View of the dais during the morning session SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper Delegates from South Korea and Japan conferring Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge, CBD Secretariat Marci Gompers-Small, Suriname Larbi Sbaï, Morocco Marcal Gusmao, Timor-Leste Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat, and SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz Joaqin Salzberg, Argentina Vin Fleming, UK Erie Tamale, CBD Secretariat Andrea Cruz-Angón, Mexico Simon Nemtzov, Israel Martha Mphatso Kalemba, Malawi, with Wadzanayi Goredema-Mandivenyi, South Africa Wadzanayi Goredema-Mandivenyi, South Africa Scott Wilson, Canada Senka Barudanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Naeem Ashraf Raja, Pakistan Ricarda Steinbrecher, Federation of German Scientists Group photo of the Korean delegation From L-R: Bernard Soubry, Kaspar Sollberger, and Mika Schroder, IISD Reporting Services Jaime Grubb, Australia, with Rosemary Paterson, New Zealand Delegates from Brazil and South Africa conferring Reinhard Schnidrig, Switzerland Neville Ash, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Mitzi Gurgel Valente da Costa, Brazil The Indonesian delegation Hendrik Segers, Belgium Tommaso Demozzi and Eirini Sakellari, University of Wagenigen The Australian delegation with members of the CBD Secretariat and indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) Ilham Atho Mohamed, Maldives Joséphine Thérèse Eloundou, Cameroon, receiving the SBSTTA Poster Award from Ilham Atho Mohamed, Maldives Andrea Cruz-Angón, Mexico Around the Venue

Highlights for Wednesday, 27 November 2019 Ilham Atho Mohamed, Maldives, chairing the morning session Delegates to the 23rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 23) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) met in plenary throughout the day to address sustainable wildlife management, technical and scientific cooperation, ecologically or biologically significant marine areas in the North-East Atlantic, and new and emerging issues. On sustainable wildlife management, Kristina Rodina, FAO, Secretary of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW), urged parties to address the root causes of over-exploitation of wildlife and to recognize the contribution of sustainable wildlife management to sustainable livelihoods and local economic prosperity. Carolina Behe-Harris, Inuit Circumpolar Council, pleaded for the rights, values, practices, and traditions of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to be accurately reflected in the post-2020 process. Parties noted the importance of the sustainable use of biodiversity in wildlife management; the need to tackle illegal wildlife trade; national efforts to promote sustainable wildlife management; and the need for multidisciplinary collaboration among relevant fora. Many parties also highlighted the importance of scientific and technical cooperation for the implementation of the post-2020 framework. They also requested additional information on the budgetary and operational consequences of a range of options regarding relevant institutional mechanisms and modalities. A number of African countries underscored the need to meaningfully address digital sequence information and potential benefit-sharing arising from its use in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. An engaged discussion took place under the agenda item on new and emerging issues. While the long-standing discussion on whether synthetic biology fulfils the criteria for new and emerging issues attracted some attention, delegates also exchanged ideas on a suggestion regarding “open environmental transformation technologies," the open-air use of nucleic acids and proteins to alter traits, genes, or other kinds of genetic material. In the evening, delegates met in a contact group, co-chaired by Anne Teller (EU) and Jorge Murillo (Colombia), to discuss elements for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. They considered possible target themes and elements, including biodiversity and conservation outcomes, direct drivers, and the use and value of nature.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WG8J 11 and SBSTTA 23. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meetings in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Carolina Behe-Harris, Inuit Circumpolar Council Kristina Rodina, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Adams Toussaint, St Lucia Caridad Canales, CBD Secretariat Naeem Ashraf Raja, Pakistan From L-R: Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat; Ilham Atho Mohamed, Maldives; and Sarat Babu Gidda, CBD Secretariat Reinhard Schnidrig, Switzerland Larbi Sbaï, Morocco Angel Onofa, Ecuador Mosimanegape Nthaka, Botswana John Clorley, UK Bun Heng Sok, Cambodia Faisal Shuraim, Saudi Arabia Delegates from Like-Minded Mega Diverse countries, conferring during the lunch break. Adem Bilgin, Turkey, and Jerry Harrison, UN Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, and Katia Karousakis, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) El Khitma El Awad Mohammed, Sudan Geneviève Lalumière, International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) Simon Nemtzov, Israel Ruth Spencer, Barnes Hill Community Development Organization Jessica Carvajal, Colombia Gono Semiadi, Indonesia Genene Tefera Belihu, Ethiopia Shirin Karryeva, Turkmenistan Room view during the contact group Around the Venue

Highlights for Monday, 25 November 2019 Delegates to the 23rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 23) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) met throughout the day to hear opening statements, address organizational matters, and exchange views on informing the scientific and technical evidence base for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. In the opening plenary, SBSTTA Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz (Mexico) reminded delegates and observers that “biodiversity is not only an environmental problem, but also a question of social, economic, and moral development”. Highlighting the “crucial stage” of the process in building the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, he urged participants to work together; focus on building recommendations; and “set aside political decisions” for the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP). Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge, CBD Secretariat, stressed that recent assessments from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation are interlinked; and that significant declines in biodiversity are occurring at all levels. She noted that conservation action has been successful in reducing biodiversity loss, and that humans have the evidence, knowledge, and ability to address the challenges before them “on a scale unimaginable a few years ago”. During a series of thematic presentations to inform the scientific and technical evidence base for the post-2020 framework, Eduardo Brondizio, Co-Chair of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, described the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity decline and explained that regional improvements do not prevent aggregated global biodiversity from deteriorating. Andreas Schei, Norwegian Environment Agency, emphasized the need to better understand direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, including their interlinkages, He underscored the need to consider biodiversity as part of the solution rather than solely focusing on biodiversity loss, stressing that “action is urgent, and it has been insufficient.” Tim Hirsch, Science writer for the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5), discussed the development of the fifth edition of GBO-5. He stressed that while evaluating the extent to which the Aichi Targets have been achieved provides a bleak picture, not all messages are negative: impressive examples of success also exist, including eradication programmes for invasive alien species. Joji Cariño, Forest Peoples Programme, presented on the second edition of the Local Biodiversity Outlook, noting that: indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) remain marginal in decision making; that IPLCs’ customary land tenure should be fully recognized to help deliver conservation outcomes; and financial resources must be deployed to support IPLC collective actions. Maïté Delmas, Global Partnership for Plant Conservation, showcased progress towards the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) 2020 at the global and national levels. Wadzanayi Goredema-Mandivenyi, South Africa, reported on a workshop which took place on 23 November, affirming that the draft GBO-5 is “a good example” of the need to draw on the best available evidence and science to build the post-2020 framework.In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Government of Canada.On Saturday and Sunday, two well-attended informal briefings focused on informing the evidence base for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and on providing an overview on the framework’s development.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WG8J 11 and SBSTTA 23. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meetings in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page View of the dais during the opening session SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge, CBD Secretariat Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat, and SBSTTA 23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz Marina von Weissenberg, Finland, chairing the afternoon session Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Co-Chair Eduardo Brondízio Angel Onofa, Ecuador Andreas Schei, Norwegian Environment Agency Tim Hirsch, Science writer for the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) Wadzanayi Goredema-Mandivenyi, South Africa Maïté Delmas, Global Partnership for Plant Conservation Joji Cariño, Forest Peoples Program Stig Johansson and Marina von Weissenberg, Finland Marie-May Muzungaile, Seychelles Raed Bani-Hani, Jordan John Scott, CBD Secretariat, and Norbert Bärlocher, Switzerland Mika Schroder, University of Strathclyde, and Marcel Kok, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency Alexander Shestakov, CBD Secretariat, with CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper Stig Johansson, Finland Informal Briefing by the Co-Chairs on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Article 8(j) Working Group Chair Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt Sarat Babu Gidda, CBD Secretariat Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) 3 Chair Charlotta Sörqvist Francis Ogwal, Co-Chair, Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework SBSTTA23 Chair Hesiquio Benítez Díaz CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper Joseph Appiott, CBD Secretariat Side Event: Exploring Evidence for 2020 and Beyond - The Global Assessment Report (IPBES), the Global Biodiversity Outlook (CBD) and the future IPBES work programme IPBES Chair Ana María Hernandez Salga Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary, IPBES IPBES Global Assessment Co-Chair Eduardo Brondízio CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper Robert Spaull, Head of Communications, IPBES Reception Hosted by the Government of Canada Niall O'Dea, Environment and Climate Change Canada Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, City of Montreal David Ainsworth, CBD Secretariat Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge, CBD Secretariat

Highlights for Friday, 22 November 2019 The 11th meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded its deliberations, approving final recommendations to the Conference of the Parties (COP) on: the development of a new programme of work and institutional arrangements on Article 8(j) related to indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs); options for possible elements of work aimed at an integration of nature and culture in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework; recommendations from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII); and the in-depth dialogue on the thematic areas. Regarding the development of a new programme of work and institutional arrangements, consensus could not be reached and the final recommendation contains bracketed text. A number of options were tabled regarding institutional arrangements, including establishing a permanent subsidiary body on Article 8(j), retaining the Working Group in its current form, or integrating it in the Convention’s subsidiary bodies. Following lengthy discussions, all suggestions remained on the table and the issue will be further discussed in COP 15 in Kunming, China, including the potential establishment of an ad hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) on IPLCs and the post-2020 framework.  In closing statements, Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-In-Charge, CBD Secretariat, reminded delegates that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, on whose land the meeting took place, holds the philosophy that deliberations must consider the impacts of their decisions “on the next seven generations.” She highlighted that, during the meeting, contributions of the traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices of IPLCs in addressing biodiversity loss were recognized as fundamental, as well as that the traditional knowledge and languages are essential to social and ecological resilience. Regional groups stressed that “this is a crucial moment for biodiversity,” emphasizing the need to take stock of progress on the Aichi Targets and develop an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Observers, including indigenous organizations, emphasized that the full and effective participation of IPLCs is crucial for a strong post-2020 framework; underscored that the post-2020 framework needs to be inclusive; expressed concern about potentially moving away from environmental and human rights standards as recognized by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and lamented the number of brackets still remaining in some of the approved recommendations. Co-Chairs Lakpa Nuri Sherpa (Nepal) and Hamdallah Zedan (Egypt) underscored that collaboration is key in fighting biodiversity loss and climate change. They emphasized the fruitful relationship with IPLCs, who are “the guardians of most of the remaining biodiversity,” and stressed that the post-2020 global biodiversity framework provides an opportunity to further this relationship. Zedan gaveled the meeting to a close at 4:58 pm.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.  IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from SBSTTA 23 and WG8J 11. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Working Group Co-Chair Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt Working Group Co-Chair Lakpa Nuri Sherpa, Nepal CBD Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper, with Working Group Co-Chair Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt Moustafa Fouda, Egypt Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge, CBD Secretariat Elise Murphy, Australia Luciana Melchert, Brazil Lyna Al-Awathi, Kuwait Andrea Cruz-Angón, Mexico Norbert Bärlocher, Switzerland Somaly Chan, Cambodia Charlotta Von Troil, EU, and Linda Lund, Norway Norbert Bärlocher, Switzerland, and Tim Badman, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Linda Lund, Norway Scott Wilson, Canada Edward Netshithothole, South Africa Delegates conferring during a break in negotiations Lennart Kümper-Schlake, Germany Lio Ando-Bourguet, CBD Secretariat Linn Appelgren, Sweden Ricarda Steinbrecher, Federation of German Scientists From L-R: El Khitma El Awad Mohammed, Sudan; Genene Tefera Belihu, Ethiopia; and Melesse Maryo Salamo, Ethiopia Around the Venue

Highlights for Thursday, 21 November 2019 Delegates conferring during a break in negotiations The 11th meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) continued its deliberations in plenary in the morning to discuss: the contribution of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework; links between nature and culture in the post-2020 framework; recommendations from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII); and a conference room paper on the in-depth dialogue. Delegates further heard a report from Francis Ogwal (Uganda) and Basile van Havre (Canada), Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Framework. The Co-Chairs emphasized three phases in the process of developing the post-2020 framework: a broad consultation across the UN regions, completed with the first Working Group meeting in August 2019; a deeper dive into thematic areas, including ecosystem restoration, marine and coastal biodiversity, capacity building, resource mobilization, and access and benefit-sharing; and text-based negotiations starting with the zero draft, to be published on 13 January 2020, until the draft’s approval, scheduled for the third Working Group meeting in July 2020. Highlights of the day include: wide recognition that the connection between culture and nature provides an untapped potential for achieving the 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature; deliberations on balancing the three objectives of the Convention in the development of the post-2020 framework with respect to biocultural diversity; calls to promote and respect the full provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and a discussion on indigenous rights vis-à-vis the rights of local communities. A contact group met in the afternoon, focusing on the development of a fully integrated programme of work on Article 8(j) within the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The contact group, co-chaired by Rosemary Paterson (New Zealand) and Lucy Mulenkei (International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, IIFB), was mandated to work through the draft recommendations to COP 15, and to consider what advice the Working Group on Article 8(j) might want to provide to the Working Group on the Post-2020 Framework on issues relating to Article 8(j).For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.  IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from SBSTTA 23 and WG8J 11. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Working Group Co-Chair Hamdallah Zedan, Egypt William Dunbar, UN University Joséphine Thérèse Eloundou, Cameroon Rina Miyake, Japan Florina López Miró, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) Joaqin Salzberg, Argentina Working Group Co-Chair Lakpa Nuri Sherpa, Nepal Naeem Ashraf Raja, Pakistan Donatian Gustave, Saint Lucia Luciana Melchert, Brazil Raed Bani-Hani, Jordan Linda Lund, Norway Tim Badman, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Nele Marien, Friends of the Earth International Lennart Kümper-Schlake, Germany Gillian Dunuan, Philippines Francis Ogwal, Co-Chair, Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Basile van Havre, Co-Chair, Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Contact Group on IPLCs and the Post-2020 Framework Contact Group Co-Chairs Lucy Mulenkei, IIFB and Rosemary Paterson, New Zealand Saami delegates during Contact Group negotiations Norbert Bärlocher, Switzerland Around the Venue