Latin America and Caribbean Network on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services—South-South Cooperation

A long tradition and rich landscape of existing networks, technical, government and academic institutions in the Latin America and Caribbean region was presented at the meeting, many of which could contribute to the objectives of IPBES. These included the Latin American Plant Science Network (RLB), presented by its former Presidents Mary Kalin-Arroyo and Mónica Moraes Ramírez, the regional sub-global assessment network of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Working Group on Indicators of the Latin America and Caribbean Initiative for Sustainable Development (GTIA), networks on marine and terrestrial protected areas, invasive alien species and other issues, and technical institutions from the region that were represented at the meeting (see Annex 1, List of Participants). As discussed in a report on Biodiversity Research produced by the International Council for Science—Latin America and the Caribbean (ICSU-LAC) in 2009,² these networks and institutions were already supporting South-South and regional cooperation, promoting greater comparability between assessment and knowledge generation work in different countries, and cooperation should be scaled up through IPBES to support an active regional programme of capacity building.

Some participants stressed that establishment of new networks could require substantial time, human and financial resources. While many networks in the region remained active, others had become inactive, and long-term stability and sustainability would need to be carefully considered before establishing new IPBES structures.

Some participants raised the issue of national clearing house mechanisms, aimed at coordinating biodiversity information and addressing problems with information generated by many institutions being difficult to access. Some national mechanisms had previously been established in universities and then moved to government ministries, making them more robust institutions linked with official data. Others had become inactive, and reactivating them would be a priority.

Some participants stressed the importance of networks being accessible and inclusive, both in terms of participation, and also in terms of their coverage of the four IPBES functions – not just taxonomy and natural sciences but also geographic information, social sciences, indigenous and local knowledge, environmental accounting, education and public information, among other themes.

The meeting agreed that the MEP would coordinate a “fast track” assessment of existing regional networks and institutions that could contribute to the IPBES Work Programme in the Region. The assessment would identify, within the region, institutions and countries that would have the capacity and willingness to provide support and capacity building to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (whether in terms of training personnel, developing, sharing and integrating biodiversity databases, or a range of other capacity building activities). This regional “matchmaking” would ensure the region used the opportunity of the IPBES Work Programme to increase its capacity and contribute at a level commensurate with its importance as home to approximately one third of the world´s biodiversity.

Regional members of the MEP presented the draft IPBES conceptual framework document, and the process that had been used to develop it, and stressed its importance as a long-term conceptual document to capture the work of IPBES, beyond the 2014-2018 Programme of Work currently being developed. Preparing the conceptual framework involved considerable challenges such as how to tie the IPBES philosophy with practical aspects of the Work Programme in order increase comparability of assessments at different scales, and how to ensure the framework was something all IPBES members could identify with, incorporating different knowledge systems and worldviews.

Some participants expressed concerns with the procedure of reviewing a draft of the conceptual framework document, which was not publicly available, in a short session at the Regional Consultations. In response, the MEP members coordinating the conceptual framework session stressed that the session was aimed partly to familiarize participants with the document, since not all had the opportunity to attend the series of workshops dedicated to developing it, and partly to conduct a brief review (but not a full negotiation) with a view to identifying regional points of view. The draft was a work in progress, which had not yet fully incorporated the formal suggestions made by countries and stakeholders, and had not yet been approved by the MEP. Countries were encouraged to submit their own formal comments as part of the review process for the conceptual framework. The regional MEP members coordinating the conceptual framework session also requested the Secretariat to email the current draft of the document to participants in the Regional Consultation. One participant recommended holding an additional workshop to develop regional input to the IPBES conceptual framework.

The representative of Bolivia expressed concern that the current draft had a heavy focus on natural capital, based on a Eurocentric worldview and approach. The representative of Bolivia mentioned that the country had submitted a serious proposal in order to enrich the conceptual framework, taking into consideration the Living-well in balance and harmony with Mother Earth, which had not been included in the draft proposal structurally. Only the concept of Living-well had been included but nothing else; the conceptual framework as a whole responded to the green economy framework. In the document, it appeared as if there were no alternative proposals to the issue of the green economy. Therefore, it felt that the contributions of developing countries were not considered seriously in IPBES, and the document should have included all alternative proposals sent to the IPBES secretariat. The Plurinational State of Bolivia had recently changed its name to reflect the visions and approaches of all indigenous peoples that lived in Bolivia, something they would like to apply to ensure the IPBES conceptual framework also had a multi-centric not a monolithic vision. He requested that the document recover the idea of the “institutional economy” to strengthen analysis of the effects of different governance systems on ecosystem services, and stressed that in dealing with ecosystem “goods and services” it was important to differentiate public, private and—importantly—community goods and services. At least in Bolivia, private companies and governments were not the driving forces for conservation, rather, the collective action of indigenous people were. Finally, he objected to the procedure of using of a placeholder (for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment) in the draft, when other countries had submitted formal comments that had not been reflected at all. Bolivia requested again to incorporate structurally into the conceptual framework the Living-well in balance and harmony with Mother Earth.

The representative of Nicaragua added that models used so far had failed to prevent biodiversity loss, and the conceptual framework should give visibility to models that protected nature such as rights and their restitution, gender-sensitive approaches, equity, and protection of Mother Earth.

Some participants expressed the view that the conceptual framework should focus on points of agreement, and steer away from points of controversy, with a view to integrating a diversity of visions in the document. Diagrams or schemes that excluded particular viewpoints should be avoided. The introduction of natural capital in the document should also be avoided since it led to controversy, as some countries interpreted it as a capitalist concept leading to the mercantilization of nature. The platform should respect different approaches, but should not make judgements about one world vision having more value than another. It could be complemented by additional documents specific to different visions and themes.

• 
  Well being needed to be more clearly defined in the conceptual framework, since there were many visions of well being, and the concept went beyond the work of IPBES itself;
  
• 
  “Goods and services” should be more clearly defined, and how these related to “ecosystem services” in the title of IPBES;
  
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  “Drivers” (which could imply intention) should be replaced by a more neutral word (e.g., “agents” or “changes”);
  
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  The conceptual framework should at some point recognize a distinction between local benefits and global benefits—changes that were positive at the global level might not always be positive at the local level, and vice versa;
  
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  The application of scenarios should be discussed in the IPBES conceptual framework as well as specific deliverables;
  
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  The current flows of ecosystem goods and services was, on its own, not a good basis for decision making, since it did not take into account factors like the dependence of different communities on these services, exposure or susceptibility to their loss, or changing scenarios. These related more closely to the concept of social and environmental “vulnerability”, which should be included in the document;
  
• 
  Section 2.1 of the document should not be prescriptive with a focus on capital assets, but should encompass different viewpoints;
  
• 
  The framework should describe the importance of rights (including of Earth and indigenous peoples) including a box focusing on this issue, and should also capture the concept of “living well”;
  
• 
  The strength and importance of governance, institutions and collective action should also be included, and there should be a broader approach to how knowledge generation was treated;
  
• 
  Common but differentiated responsibilities should also be included as a central topic in the conceptual framework;
  
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  Biodiversity should be considered as heritage rather than a resource, to address the break between humans and nature that considered people only as citizens or consumers, rather than part of the natural world;
  
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  The conceptual framework needed to strengthen its description of how IPBES can promote multi-disciplinary dialogue and restore links between different bodies of knowledge such as natural sciences, economics and social sciences.
  

• 
  The meeting agreed that the MEP would coordinate a quick assessment of available biodiversity-related institutions and networks in the region, including previous experiences such as the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN), and combine this information with that from the Questionnaires (Annex 4), to produce a matrix of capacities and needs in the region. The matrix would form the baseline for “matchmaking” efforts to be coordinated by the Latin America and Caribbean MEP members, ensuring the region would use the opportunity of the IPBES Work Programme to increase its capacity and contribute at a level commensurate with its importance as home to approximately one third of the world´s biodiversity.
  
• 
  The Secretariat was requested to email the current draft of the Conceptual Framework to participants.
  
• 
  Participants were requested to complete both (global and region-specific) capacity building questionnaires and return them to the IPBES Secretariat by Friday, 19 July 2013.
  
• 
  The draft meeting report would be circulated in the week of 22-26 July 2013 in English only, and finalized in time for the next meeting of the MEP in mid August. The final report would be available in English and Spanish.
  
• 
  Countries were urged to provide their official comments to IPBES documents (including the draft Work Programme, stakeholder engagement strategy and guidelines on strategic partnerships) by 28 July 2013, as part of the online review process.
  
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  Governments that had not done so already were requested to appoint their official focal point to the IPBES platform as soon as possible.
  
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  Governments in the region were also requested to identify participants for the second session of the IPBES Plenary, Antalya, Turkey, 9-14 December 2013, to ensure a strong regional presence at that meeting.
  

Pedro Laterra

Profesor Titular/Investigador Independiente

Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias

Universidad Nacional Mar del Plata

CC 276 (7620) Balcarce, Argentina

Tel: +54 2266 439100

Email: platerra@balcarce.inta.gov.ar

Diego Pacheco Balanza

Experto en Temas Ambientales

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores

Man Cesped No. 500 (Prolongación)

La Paz, Bolivia

Tel: +591 670 05265

Email: jallpa@yahoo.com

Funcionario

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores

Av. 6 de Agosto No. 1471

La Paz, Bolivia

Tel: +591 772 81887

Email: ferarza@gmail.com
Brazil

Daniela América Suarez de Oliveira

Directora, Departamento de Conservação da Biodiversidade

Secretaria de Biodiversidade e Florestas

Ministério do Meio Ambiente

SEPN 505, Bloco B

Ed. Marie Prendi Cruz, 4º Andar—Sala 416

Asa Norte—Brasilia DF 70.730-542, Brasil

Tel: +61 2028-2028

Email: daniela.oliveira@mma.gov.br

Ministry of External Relations

Esplanada dos Ministerios, Bloco H, Anexo I

Brasilia 70170-900, Brazil

Email: larissa.costa@itamaraty.gov.br
David Oren

Coordenador de Biodiversidade

Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (MCTI)

Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco E, 2º Andar - Sala 242

70.067-900 Brasilia, DF, Brasil

Tel: +55 61 2033 8500

Email: doren@mct.gov.br
Chile

Charif Tala González

Profesional de la División de Recursos Naturales, Residuos y Evaluación de Riesgo

Ministerio del Medio Ambiente

Teatinos 254, Cod. Postal 8340434

Santiago, Chile

Tel: +562 2241 1827

Email: ctala@mma.gob.cl

Paula Andrea Rojas Gutierrez

Dirección de Bosques, Biodiversidad y Servicios de los Ecosistemas

Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible

Calle 37 No. 8-40

Bogota, Colombia

Tel: +57 300 876 7174

Email: projas@minambiente.gov.co

Jenny Asch Corrales

Ministro de Ambiente y Energía (MINAE)

Tel: +506 8885 2594

Email: jenny.asch@sinac.go.cr
Cuba

Lourdes Coya de la Fuente

Funcionaria

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente

Calle 20 esq. 18ª, CP: 11300

Playa, La Habana, Cuba

Tel: +537 204 9460

Email: lourdes@citma.cu

José Rafael Almonte

Asesor Técnico del Viceministerio de Áreas Protegidas y Biodiversidad

Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

Ave. Cayetano Germosen, Esquina Avenida Luperon

Distrito Nacional, Edif. del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, 3ra planta

Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

Tel: +809 501 2148

Email: Jose.Almonte@ambiente.gob.do
El Salvador

Nestor Herrera

Gerente de Vida Silvestre, Dirección de Biodiversidad y Patrimonio Natural

Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

Kilómetro 5½ Carretera a Santa Tecla, Calle y Colonia Las Mercedes

Edificio MARN (Instalaciones ISTA)

San Salvador, El Salvador

Tel: +503 2132 9381

Email: nherrera@marn.gob.sv
Guatemala

Helmer Ayala Vargas

Asesor—Gestión de Proyectos

Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP)

6 av. 6-03 zona 1

Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

Tel: +502 5830 4771

Email: hayala@conap.gob.gt

Ivette Velásquez

Directora de Modernización

Secretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente (SERNA)

100 metros al sur del Estadio Nacional

Tegucigalpa M.D.C., Honduras

Tel: +504 2239 4272

Email: ivetteyolandav@hotmail.com

Hesiquio Benítez Díaz

Director General de Cooperación Internacional e Implementación

Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO)

Liga Periferíco—Insurgentes, Sur, No. 4903

Col. Parques del Pedregal, Tlalpan 14010

México DF, México

Tel: +52 55 5004 5025

Email: hbenitez@conabio.gob.mx
Nicaragua

Edilberto Duarte

Director General de Patrimonio Natural

Ministerio del Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales (MARENA)

Km 12.5 Carretera Norte, P.O. Box 5123

Managua, Nicaragua

Tel: +505 8912 6230 / +505 2263 1994

Email: eduarte@marena.gob.ni

Darío Luque

Áreas Protegidas, Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM)

Edificio 804, Allbrook, Apartado postal C-0843-00793

Balboa, Ancón, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

Tel: +507 500 0878

Email: dluque@anam.gob.pa
Peru

Roxana Virginia Solís Ortíz

Especialista—Gestión de la Biodiversidad

Ministerio del Ambiente

Ave. Villareal de los Infantes 225

Urb. Las Lomas de la Molina, Cond. Los Portales

La Molina, Lima, Perú

Tel: +511 611 6000, ext. 1030

Email: rsolis@minam.gob.pe
Saint Lucia

Alwin Dornelly

Assistant Chief Forest Officer

Department of Forestry

Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology

Gabriel Charles Forestry Complex, Union, Castries, Saint Lucia

Tel: +758 468 5644 / +758 717 3919

Email: dornelly_al@yahoo.com

Carlton Roberts

Director, Forest Resource Inventory and Management

Ministry of Environment and Water Resources

#33, Long Circular Rd., St James

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Tel: +868 622 5858

Email: edric45@hotmail.com

Luis Mario Batalles

Jefe de Gestión del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas

Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente

Galicia 1133, Montevideo 11000, Uruguay

Tel: +598 9 961 8925

Email: mario.batalles@mvotma.gub.uy
IPBES Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel Members
Zakri Abdul Hamid

Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Chairman of the National Professors Council, Malaysia

IPBES Chair
Lilian Ferrufino
Professor

National Autonomous University of Honduras

Alternate to IPBES Bureau Member for Latin America and the Caribbean
Sandra Myrna Díaz
Professor of Community and Ecosystems Ecology

Department of Biological Diversity and Ecology

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina

Director of Núcleo Diversus on Biodiversity and Sustainability

Email: sdiaz@efn.uncor.edu

Email: chijunil@hotmail.com

Plant Biology Dept.

Biology Institute – PO Box 6109

State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

13083-970 - Campinas/SP

Brazil

Email: cjoly@unicamp.br

Biodiversity Specialist, Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

Level 26, Tower D

Waterfront Complex, Wrightson Road

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Tel: +868 623 3158, ext. 221

Email: floyd.homer@gov.tt

Sintia Yañez

Ejecutiva Principal de Medio Ambiente/Representação no Brasil

Banco de Desenvolvimiento da América Latina (CAF)

Tel: +55 61 2198622 / +55 61 33250633

Email: syanez@caf.com

Charles Davies

Regional Coordinator, Division of Early Warning and Assessment

Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNEP

Clayton, City of Knowledge, Morse Avenue, Building 103

P.O. Box 0843-03590, Balboa—Panama City, Panamá

Tel: +507 305 3150

Email: Charles.Davies@unep.org

Nalini Sharma

IPBES Programme Officer—Biodiversity Unit

Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, UNEP

United Nations Avenue, Gigiri

PO Box 30552, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 762 3757

Email: nalini.sharma@unep.org
Pedro Luiz Simpson

Project Officer, UNEP Brazil Office

Setor de Ebaixadas Norte, Brasilia, Brasil

Tel: +55 61 3038 9232

Email: gefbio@pnuma.org
Technical institutions, civil society organizations and experts³
Biodiversitas Foundation

Gláucia Moreira Drummond

Superintendente Geral

Fundação Biodiversitas

Pça. Governador Israel Pinheiro, 277 (Praça do Papa) – Mangabeiras

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, CEP 30210.060, Brazil

Tel: +55 31 3653 7794/5

Email: glaucia@biodiversitas.org.br

Mónica Moraes Ramírez

Herbario Nacional de Bolivia

Instituto de Ecología

Universidad Mayor de San Andrés

Casilla 10077 – Correo Central

La Paz, Bolivia

Tel: +591 2 279 2416 / +591 2 279 2582

Email: monicamoraes45@gmail.com
Conservation International

Helena Pavese

SAUS—Quadra 3, Lote 2, Bloco C, Ed. Business Point, 7º andar, Salas 715-720

70070-934 Brasilia DF, Brasil

Email: hpavese@conservation.org
The Cropper Foundation

Keisha Garcia

Senior Associate

The Cropper Foundation

Building #7

Fernandes Industrial Centre, Laventille

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Tel: +868 353 7339

Email: kgarcia@thecropperfoundation.org
Fundação Florestal de São Paulo

Rodrigo Victor

Assessor Executiva

Rua do Horte, 931

São Paulo, Brasil 02377-000

Tel: +55 11 999 462 415

Email: rabmvictor@yahoo.com.br
Global Youth Biodiversity Network

Melina Sakiyama

Focal Point, Global Youth Biodiversity Network

Av. Jabaquara, 1469, apto. 92-B

São Paulo, Brasil

Tel: +55 11 55940583

Email: Melina.sakiyama@gmail.com