Science-Policy Dialogues on the Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Southeast Asia & Northeast Asia

From 21 to 23 October, IGES, together with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and the University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives, organized the “Science-Policy Dialogues on the Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Southeast Asia & Northeast Asia”, in Bangkok. A total of 34 national focal points and other government officials from 10 countries in Southeast Asia & Northeast Asia, and 27 experts, including researchers from the organizing institutions, joined the workshop. They discussed ways to utilize the various reports of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), especially the regional assessment for Asia and the Pacific. The government officials learned about the structure, activities, and the reports of IPBES, as well as Japanese activities to utilize the IPBES outcomes and national ecosystem assessment, especially the research project Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital & Ecosystem Services (PANCES), which aims to develop an integrated assessment model of social-ecological systems.
During the workshop discussions the participants repeatedly highlighted the importance of: transformative change for enabling a sustainable future; the science-based decision making and adaptive governance necessary for transformative change to happen; and the assessment activities on biodiversity and ecosystem services at the national level. At the end of the workshop participants expressed their willingness to conduct national ecosystem assessments in their own countries, in part by utilizing the information and networking opportunity provided by the event. 

There were presentations on: 1) the research project Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital & Ecosystem Services (PANCES); 2) the IPBES assessment approach, as well as the IPBES conceptual framework and links to the CBD; 3) the IPBES Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific, in addition to challenges in three of the participating countries; and 4) outreach to raise awareness of IPBES findings in Japan. Following each presentation, participants divided into small groups to: 1) discuss the science-policy interface in Northeast and Southeast Asia; 2) share experiences and needs for national assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services, 3) consider how to utilize the Regional Assessment to address the challenges in each country; and 4) talk about how to improve biodiversity outreach, including a focus on increasing awareness of the IPBES Regional Assessment.