2018•12•09     Sharm El Sheikh

From 17 to 29 November 2018, experts and staff from the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) participated in the UN Biodiversity Conference, held this year in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference consisted of the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 14) and several related conferences, meetings, and events.

At the conference, UNU-IAS highlighted work related to its International Satoyama Initiative (ISI) project.

The Institute organised two side events in collaboration with partners:

• “Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes for Biodiversity and Livelihood: Roles in Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” on 17 November, featuring a keynote address by Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi
• “Consolidation and Replication of Effective Landscape Approaches for Biodiversity Conservation and Human Livelihoods” on 19 November

These events focused on different aspects of the work of the ISI project, particularly its contributions to CBD policymaking through the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI).

UNU-IAS staff also contributed as presenters and panelists at:

• “The Nature and Culture Summit: Biological and Cultural Diversity for Biodiversity and Human Resilience Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement”, related to UNU-IAS ongoing work with the UNESCO-CBD Joint Programme on Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity and following up on the 2016 1st Asian Conference on Biocultural Diversity organised in part by the UNU-IAS Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa
• the 6th Global Biodiversity Summit of Local and Subnational Governments (“Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Urban and Regional Development”)
• the Rio Convention’s Pavilion day on “Agriculture and Biodiversity: Walking Hand-in-Hhand toward a Sustainable World”

As the CBD looks toward the end of the UN Decade on Biodiversity 2011–-2020, UNU-IAS continues to contribute actively to the policymaking process and the achievement of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. UNU-IAS staff participation in the UN Biodiversity Conference 2018 also served as an opportunity to take part in preparatory processes to develop the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework.