Fifth Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity and the Eighth International Conference on Sustainability Science

11 - 13 December 2022. The purpose of the fifth Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity and the eighth International Conference on Sustainability Science was to provide space for scientists, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders the opportunity to discuss and make recommendations on how science, technology and innovation can contribute to the effective implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Participants shared experiences, exchange knowledge, ideas and diverse perspectives, showcased innovative solutions and tools for addressing technical issues and facilitating the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. 

They also considered the key factors for success and for scaling-up action to achieve measurable impacts on biodiversity at global scales, and adopt an action agenda to build effective cooperation, increase global capacities, and scale up complementary research, building on the outputs and recommendations from the joint virtual sessions held in April 2021 and from the ICSS 8 sessions held in January 2022.

OPENING 

• Ms. Mona Nemer Chief Science Advisor of Canada
• Ms. Elizabeth Mrema Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) 
• Mr. Huang Runqiu Minister of Ecology and Environment CBD COP15 President, People’s Republic of China 
• Mr. Hesiquio Benitez Diaz Chair Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) 
• Ms. Brandie Smith Director John and Adrienne Mars Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Co-Chair Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity 
• Ms. Gisele Didier Deputy Director Research of the Humboldt Institute Co-Chair Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity (CSP) 
• Mr. L.S. Shashidhara President International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) 
• Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi President Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)/University of Tokyo 

SESSION 1 The role of the scientific community in the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework 

In this session, research institutions, universities, and enterprises–the main bodies of scientific and
technological innovation– discussed the best practices for scientific and technological cooperation and innovation to achieve transformation from multiple perspectives including ecological civilization, biodiversity (wetlands/oceans), and food security. This session facilitated decision-making, supervision and evaluation of the actions of governments and enterprises and provide scientific guidance for promoting the mainstreaming of biodiversity and public participation mechanisms, with a view to making outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

• Mr. Henrique M. Pereira Professor, Biodiversity Conservation; Coordinator, EuropaBON; Co-Speaker, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) “Science for effective post-2020 implementation: from nature futures to monitoring” 
•  Mr. Pavan Sukhdev Founder & CEO, GIST Ex-President, WWF-International; UNEP Goodwill Ambassador “Role of Scientific Community in Measuring Biodiversity Impacts of an Enterprise” 
• Mr. Alexandre Antonelli Director, Science, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Professor, Biodiversity Univ. Oxford & Gothenburg “Tackling the biodiversity, climate and food security crises through integrated approaches” 
• Mr. Qinghua Chen Professorate Senior Engineer, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (SCIES) “Marine biodiversity conservation planning in china and the role of scientists” 
• Mr. Thomas Brooks Chief Scientist, IUCN “Contributions for Nature – combining community-wide documentation with cutting-edge biodiversity science and data” 
• Moderator Ms. Linxiu Zhang Director, UNEP-IEMP; Adjunct Professor, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Adjunct Researcher, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences; TWAS Fellow “Enhance multi-level cooperation between scientists, communities and NGOs for biodiversity conservation and utilization”

SESSION 2 Transformative actions on all drivers of biodiversity loss urgently required to achieve the global goals by 2050 

Halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and accelerating the reversal of negative biodiversity change requires transformative change, and cannot be achieved through conservation and restoration alone. Ambitious and comprehensive actions are needed to address the multiple direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss. Given the failures to achieve previous global commitments, there is an urgent need to focus on how such global commitments can be achieved effectively. 

• This session made the case for integrated knowledge and solutions as an imperative for realizing the Global Biodiversity Framework as a transformative instrument. 
• The session built on recent contributions from the scientific community to support a more robust understanding of people as part of nature and the importance of an integrated approach to transformation change that are needed to address the multiple drivers responsible for the decline of biodiversity and ecosystems (Friedman et al 2022, IPBES 2019, Díaz 2020). 
• It included findings of an assessment led by the bioDISCOVERY programme of Future Earth and the Secretariat of the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) conducted in 2021. 
• The assessment analysed how actions in the 21 targets of the first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) and a comprehensive monitoring framework could contribute to achieving the goals and biodiversity milestones of the GBF. As countries meet to finalise the GBF, it is crucial to integrate the robust evidence on the need for an integrated approach from ambition and target setting through to implementation and monitoring to implement the GBF while meeting other biodiversity-related agreements, the sister Rio Conventions, and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, thus providing entry points for strategic coordination with other regimes. 

• Mr. Peter Bridgewater Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Australia “Learning
  from the past to leverage the future – making the GBF a truly transformative agenda / creating the conditions for success in 2030 and beyond” 
• Mr. Paul Leadley bioDISCOVERY and Paris-Saclay University, France “The need for and opportunities of integrated implementation of the GBF” 
• Mr. David Obura CORDIO Kenya, Earth Commission “From conservation to addressing the drivers of decline of biodiversity” 
• Ms. Varsha Vijay Technical director, Science Based Targets Network “Enabling corporate and city contribution to the GBF” 
• Ms. Katie Millette Science Officer at the GEO BON Secretariat at McGill University, Canada “Tracking the drivers of biodiversity loss: the data and monitoring frameworks needed to support transformative action – GEO BON” 
• Mr. Balakrishna Pisupati UNEP “Strengthening the science policy interface across multilateral environmental agreements” 
• Moderator: Ms. Anne-Sophie Stevance International Science Council

Resources: 

The bioDISCOVERY programme of Future Earth and the Secretariat of the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), convened a group of experts to prepare six briefs to provide scientific support for the negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) at the fourth meeting of the Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in Nairobi, from 21 to 26 June 2022. 

The following 8 briefs aim to provide an updated assessment and recommendations for select targets and goals of the GBF, as well as the monitoring framework.

1. GEO BON (2022) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Science Brief for Target 10 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #13 p
2. GEO BON (2022) ECOSYSTEMS Science Brief for the Ecosystem Objectives of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #33 p.
3. GEO BON (2022) PROTECTED AND CONSERVED AREAS Science Brief for Target 3 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework # 12 p.
4. GEO BON (2022) POLLUTION Science Brief for Target 7 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #23 p.
5. GEO BON (2022) CLIMATE CHANGE Science Brief for Target 8 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #18 p.
6. GEO BON (2022) MONITORING Briefing Note for the Monitoring Framework of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #18 p.
7. GEO BON (2022) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION Science Brief for Target 2 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #17 p.
8. GEO BON (2022) SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIODIVERSITY Science Brief for Sustainable Use Targets of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework #13 p.

SESSION 3 Biodiversity-Inclusive One health: Future solutions, learning from experience 

Drawing from a vast range of experiences of One Health projects and initiatives, this session will explore how to meaningfully co-design, implement and monitor more robust, inclusive, coherent and evidence-based One Health Plans, policies, projects and initiatives. It will further explore how to strengthen One Health initiatives to build a strong community of practice that both meaningfully engages with and supports the aims of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and biodiversity-inclusive One Health efforts, and the right to a healthy environment. An interdisciplinary panel of stakeholders from non-governmental organizations, academia and policymakers will share lessons learned, best practices and opportunities for engagement and strengthening in One Health. 

• 
  Ms. Kim Gruetzmacher Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) 
  
• Mr. Serge Morand Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) 
• Ms. Anna Stewart Ibarra Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) 
• Mr. L.S. Shashidara India, IUBS president Deforestation and human health 
• Mr. Jonathan Jennings Health in harmony; Health-Biodiversity-Climate Change 
• Ms. Omnia el Omrani COP 27 Presidency youth envoy 
• Mr. Ayman Hamada Ministry of environment, Egypt 
• Ms. Chadia Wannous World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Member of the Quadripartite Secretariat 
• Moderator: Ms. Cristina Romanelli World Health Organization (WHO)

SESSION 4 Biodiversity as a source of solutions to sustainability challenges in urban, peri-urban and rural areas 

This session summarised the 5th Science-Policy Forum for Biodiversity and the 8th International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS 8), organized virtually in January 2022. The objective of the session is to discuss how to leverage biodiversity in order to provide different solutions for food, health, and urban systems. It provided insights on how biodiversity solutions can contribute to the effective implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) to foster transformative change towards achieving the 2050 Vision. 

• Takeuchi Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan Project Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo, Japan “Leveraging biodiversity to provide solutions in the Food-Health-Biodiversity-Climate Change nexus” 
• Mr. Thomas Elmqvist Professor, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University & Visiting Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo “Urban Biodiversity and the Nature Futures Framework for Sustainability” 
• Moderator: Mr. Alexandros Gasparatos Associate Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo, Japan

SESSION 5 Valuing, measuring and reporting on ecosystem services 

In order to halt biodiversity decline, careful measurement and reporting of biodiversity data is necessary to evaluate progress.

Building on the release of the IPBES report, this roundtable session discussed how likely it is that countries will have the capacity to integrate valuation, develop assessments to measure ecosystem services and/or natural capital at national levels, and report the findings of those reports. This session also discussed, in line with Target 14, how to value ecosystem services for planning purposes and with a view to different jurisdictions, economic perspectives and cultural contexts. Valuing ecosystem services at all levels of society will be key to achieving the required transformative changes in biodiversity; thus, having affordable and appropriate tools will be crucial to achieve goals and targets within the Global Biodiversity Framework. 

• 
  Ms. Suneetha Subramanian United Nations University 
  
• Mr. Marcel Kok PBL, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency 
• Mr. Osamu Saito Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) & Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo, Japan 
• Ms. Alice Hughes University of Hong Kong 
• Mr. Zsolt Molnár Center for Ecological Research, Hungary 
• Ms. Isimemen Osemwegie Capacity Development for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Experts in West, Central & East Africa (CABES), "Assessing oasis ecosystems in Niger"
  Isimemen Osemwegie (Benin) is the Assistant Coordinator of WABES, an initiative coordinated by the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany that supports through capacity building, the contributions of West African stakeholders to the World Biodiversity Council, IPBES. As a member of the WABES Steering committee, she works with the consortium partners to raise awareness of IPBES in the West Africa subregion, increase the contributions of the subregion’s pool of experts to the IPBES rolling work programs, and promote the domestic uptake of IPBES assessments. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she works at the intersection of climate change, hydrology and ecology. Her research focuses on how aquatic species respond to climate change and changing environmental conditions at various spatial and temporal scales.
• Ms. Theresa Mundita L. Lim Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity 
• Moderator Ana María Hernández IPBES chair

SESSION 6 What capacity building for digital sequence information can offer 

DSI provides a critical scientific tool for a range of public good research and the Global Biodiversity Framework itself. Although databases for DSI are open access, the ability to use DSI is uneven across the world. How can capacity-building for DSI level the playing field? And where should it be targeted? This event will focus on the DSI capacity-building ideas and needs at the intersection of the Global Biodiversity Framework, sustainable development, health, and food security. 

• Ms. Melania Muñoz García Leibniz institute DSMZ, Germany “DSI and capacity-building, an overview” 
• Mr. Tamiru Oljira Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute (EBTi), Ethiopia “Understanding human genetic diversity for improved health” 
• Ms. Ann McCartney Genomics Institute UCSC, and Native Biodata Consortium, USA “The GBF is connected to DSI: From barcoding to eDNA to whole genomes” 
• Mr. Suhel al-Janabi ABS Capacity Development Initiative, Germany “Lessons learned from ABS capacity building” 

Panel: What DSI capacity-building needs do you see? What would move the needle? 

• Mr. Jörg Overman Leibniz Institute DSMZ, Germany 
• Ms. Martine Hossaerts French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France 
• Mr. Guilherme Oliveira Vale Institute of Technology (ITV), Brazil 
• Moderator Mr. Charlie Mabala Delegate from Gabon 
• Moderator  Ms. Amber Scholz Leibniz Institute DSMZ

SESSION 7 Sustainability & food systems/ agriculture: Scaling-up and measuring sustainability 

Bending the curve of biodiversity loss will require strong action and changes in the use of biodiversity and nature; how ambitious, realistic and measurable are the proposed goals related to food and agriculture (goals A, B and Target 10). In the same line, it is still not clear how food systems and other products or sustainable management of agriculture [forestry and fisheries] should change to be sustainable while coping with human demands, or how progress will be measured. This session discussed on the convergence of sustainable land uses for agriculture, taking into account the SDG, and how Target 10, goals A and B can be implemented. 

• Mr. Josef Settele Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Co-chair of IPBES global assessment 
• Ms. Ndeye Fatou MAR Land Department Coordinator Sahara and Sahel Observatory – OSS, Tunis 
• Mr. Alexander Gasparatos UCLouvain Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo “Local sustainability impacts of non-food commodity crops” 
• Ms. Marie-Christine Cormier-Salem Agropolis Fondation – IRD “Sustainability, diversity and equity. The links between resilience, multiple-use systems and local knowledge” 
• Mr. Fabrice DeClerck Bioversity International
• Mr. Piero Visconti International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) “Assessing EU policies for nature, agriculture and climate” 

Panel:“ Road map for integrating technological and scientific tools into a global observation system for supporting the implementation of the monitoring framework of the post-2020 GBF” 

• Mr. Mike Gill Director, NatureServe 
• Mr. Guido Saborio Ministry of Environment, Costa Rica 
• Ms. Natasha Ali Senior Programme Officer -Policy 
• Mr. Tim Hirsch Deputy director of the Secretariat of GBIF 
• Moderators: Ms. Britta Garfield Smithsonian Institution Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity (CSP) and  Ms. Jillian Campbell Head of Monitoring, Review and Reporting UN Convention on Biological Diversity

SESSION 8 Mobilizing tools and technologies to support implementation and monitoring of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework - towards a global biodiversity observation system 

The Monitoring Framework of the GBF, tracks and reports progress towards the goals and targets, and helps forecast and guide the planning of policies and actions. To effectively implement the Monitoring framework national and global biodiversity monitoring systems need to be in place and working together. This session addressed key facets of the science needed for the implementation of the monitoring framework. 

• Mr. Alexandre Antonelli Director of Science, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens “ Integration of technologies and approaches to monitor, evaluate, and guide conservation actions in a dynamic world” 
• Mr. Steven Canty Smithsonian Environmental Research Center “How do we democratize biodiversity monitoring and scale it so that we can cover more geographies and with greater frequencies? Could environmental DNA (eDNA) be part of that solution?” 
• Ms. Hilde Eggermont Chair and Coordinator, European Biodiversity Partnership (Biodiversa+) 
• Mr. Henrique Pereira EuropaBON “ Towards a European Biodiversity Observation Network (Biodiversa+ and EuropaBON collaboration)” 
• Mr. Andrew Gonzalez GEOBON “Detection and attribution of biodiversity change for effective indicators” 
• Ms. Maria Cecilia Londoño Co-chair, GEOBON “National capacities for global GBF monitoring”

SESSION 9 PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION: Public policies & private sector 

This session explored the feasibility of proposed targets 15 and 16, explored several aspects that need to be taken into consideration when promoting zero-deforestation commodity supply chains and standards; concepts like telecoupling, traceability and others were explored in light of constructing policies, measuring and reporting for the GBF. Also, we will refer to the connections between the GBF, SDG and climate change. 

• Ms. Vivian Valencia Bishop’s University, Research Chair in Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Action 
• Mr. Yves Zinngrebe UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research 
• Ms. Joanna Smallwood University of Sussex 
• Mr. Ingmar Juergens CEO and Co-founder of Climate & Company 
• Mr. Kim Carstensen Director General, Forest Stewardship Council International “Using technology and innovation as the basis for providing data connecting forests to consumers.”

SESSION 10 Restoration, connectivity, ecological integrity. How to effectively achieve and measure restoration and functionality recovery @ 

Ecological restoration is one of the main strategies proposed to bend the curve of biodiversity loss. Several challenges arise when trying to implement it at more than pilot experiences. Integration of connectivity, how to measure restoration in human modified landscapes, functionality recovery and how to ensure wide participation, including private sector (synergies with other Rio conventions). 

• Mr. Nestor Fernandez German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv); NaturaConnect 
• Mr. Piero Visconti International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 
• Mr. Michel Labrecque Conservateur Jardin Botanique de Montréal; Associate Professor – Université de Montréal 
• Ms. Carly Cowell Head of Science Policy Unit, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens 
• Ms. Robin Chazdon “Leveraging natural regeneration in the tropics to achieve large-scale forest restoration” 
• Session Leads: Ms. Lily O. Rodríguez International Union of Biological Science – IUBS Mr. Néstor Fernández German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research – iDiv

SESSION 11 Nature positive solutions for public & private sectors 

This session focused on presenting various efforts to promote nature positive solutions in public and private sectors as well as their collaboration, including green procurement, landscape approaches, certification, economic incentives measuring and reporting for the GBF. 

SESSION 12 Opportunities for nature positive future – session for early-career scholars and students 

In this session, young researchers, along with undergraduate and graduate students, engaged in a discussion about rediscovering the value of biodiversity. It presented transdisciplinary approaches to foster locally initiated nature-based solutions for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with examples of sustainability living labs and local projects. This session inspired the next generation’s search for innovative solutions towards nature positive future.