Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Distr.: General
16 December 2014
English only
Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Third session
Bonn, Germany, 12–17 January 2015
Item 5 (b) of the provisional agenda
Initial work programme of the Platform:
guides on assessments, policy support tools
and methodologies, and preliminary guides
on scenario analysis and modelling and the
conceptualization of values
Guide on the production and integration of assessments from and across all scales (deliverable 2 (a))
Note by the secretariat
In its decision IPBES-2/5, the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services requested the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel in consultation with the Bureau, supported by a time-bound and task-specific expert group, to implement deliverable 2 (a) of the work programme, on the development of a guide to the production and integration of assessments from and across all levels. The guide was intended to address the practical, procedural, conceptual and thematic aspects of undertaking assessments and to draw on the work of the task forces and other expert groups. Accordingly, an expert group was established to develop the guide, in accordance with the rules of procedure set out in the annex to decision IPBES-2/3 (IPBES/2/17). The annex to the present note provides information on the membership of the expert group, progress made in the development of the guide and next steps, and sets out the draft guide in its annex III. The annex is presented without formal editing.
Annex
Expert group on the development of a guide to the production and integration of assessments from and across all levels
Membership of the Expert Group
Governments and other relevant stakeholders submitted 90 nominations for the expert group to prepare the draft of the Guide. The Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, at its third meeting, decided to select from this pool of nomination a small group of 9 experts, tasked, to develop the guide on assessments, together with members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel and the Bureau, as well as a larger group of 48 experts tasked to review the draft guide. The selection process involved members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel supported by members of the Bureau, together reviewing all nominations submitted, based on examination of nomination templates and curricula vitae for each nominee. Selections were made on the basis of excellence and relevance of candidates’ expertise with respect to relevant areas of the work programme. Once selected on merit, further selection was focused on balancing disciplinary, regional and gender diversity, as well as sectoral aspects (i.e. government and stakeholder nominations).
The expert group selected included 22 percent of experts from Africa, 33 percent from Asia Pacific, 11 percent from Eastern Europe, 22 percent from Latin America and the Caribbean and 11 percent from Western European and Others Groups, with 89 percent nominations made by Governments and 11 percent by other Stakeholders, with 44 per cent males and 56 percent females. The expert group was co-chaired by Ivar Baste (Bureau) and Sebsebe Demissew (MEP). Ten other members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel and Bureau oversaw the work of this deliverable. The composition of the expert group is presented in annex I. Additionally, a larger group of 48 nominated experts formed a review panel for the work on policy support tools and methodologies providing peer review. The composition of the larger expert group is presented in annex II.
Technical support to the development of the Guide was provided by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre by means of an agreement on interim support to the IPBES secretariat.
Progress and planned next steps in the development of the guide
A draft version of the guide has been developed but more work remains until the guide is completed. The guide is awaiting further inputs from IPBES Task Forces and directions from the Plenary on issues such as priority capacity-building needs. Text still needs to be developed in relation to knowledge gaps and indigenous and local knowledge.
An early draft of the guide was subject to one round of peer review in August 2014 by the larger group of experts. The current draft will undergo a second round of review by the same group and members of IPBES Task Forces and relevant Expert Groups.
The guide is furthermore open for review by Members and Stakeholders of IPBES and comments should be submitted to the IPBES Secretariat by 31 January 2015 using the standard format as in annex 4. Review should focus on content within the guide as well as length and accessibility of language.
The expert group for the guide will address the review comments and consider whether the guide could be produced as an e-book with an overarching diagrammatic summary of practical steps to be considered. The summary is also intended to assist users in accessing the information contained within the Guide. The Multidisciplinary Expert Group will in consultation with the Bureau consider how the Guide on the production and integration of assessments from and across all scales should be published and made available. They will also explore the possibility of holding a final expert group meeting to finalise the guide.
Annex I
Members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel and Bureau dedicated to the work on the Guide on the production and integration of assessments from and across all scales
Name
Affiliation
Bureau/MEP
Ivar Baste
Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
Bureau (co-chair)
Sebsebe Demissew
Addis Ababa University
MEP (co-chair)
Zakri Abdul Hamid
National Professors Council, Malaysia
Bureau
Robert Watson
University of East Anglia
Bureau
Yousef Al-Hafedh
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Selection of report co-chairs, coordinating lead authors, lead authors and review editors
60
3.4
Some useful writing suggestions for assessment reports
64
4.1
Philosophical approaches to estimating uncertainty
75
4.2
When should uncertainty language be used?
77
4.3
Examples of key findings and the uncertainty terms used
78
10.1
Questions used to direct the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the development of indicators and measures used in the global and sub-global assessments
115
10.2
Principles for choosing indicators
118
11.1
Proposed families of policy support tools and methodologies with examples
136
12.1
Target groups and report style
139
12.2
Developing a comprehensive communications plan ensures effective outreach
140
12.3
UK National Ecosystem Assessment Follow-on Phase Knowledge Exchange Strategy
141
12.4
The Spanish National Ecosystem Assessment’s (EME) Communication Strategy
