The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provides a mechanism recognized by both the scientific and policy communities to synthesize, review, assess and critically evaluate relevant knowledge. The LINKS programme supports IPBES in its work on ensuring respect for indigenous knowledge within the Platform.

In preparation for the first session of the IPBES Plenary (IPBES-1), UNESCO as part of the interagency IPBES Interim Secretariat was requested to draft an information document that would consider key issues related to indigenous and local knowledge in IPBES. This document was presented at IPBES-1 as Consideration of initial elements: Recognizing indigenous and local knowledge and building synergies with science (IPBES/1/INF/5).

At IPBES-1, the government of Japan announced its support for the organization of an expert and stakeholder workshop on indigenous and local knowledge in IPBES. It was also agreed that UNESCO, further to its lead role in developing the document IPBES/1/INF/5, would co-organize the workshop in partnership with UNU. Convened by the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP), the international expert and stakeholder workshop on the Contribution of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems to IPBES: Building Synergies with Science was held from 9-11 June 2013 in Tokyo, Japan.

Recommendations from the workshop were reviewed by the IPBES Bureau and MEP at its meeting in Cape Town, South Africa (27-30 August 2013) and are to be considered by the IPBES Plenary at its second meeting in Antalya, Turkey (9-13 December 2013). The workshop report is available here or as IPBES/2/INF/1.

The current draft work programme that is being prepared for consideration by the second IPBES Plenary proposes under Deliverable 1(c) that a time-bound and task-specific expert group will be established to further develop a guide on ’procedures and approaches for working with indigenous and local knowledge systems’ for approval at IPBES-4 (anticipated in early 2016) so that it can inform the process for developing other ongoing IPBES deliverables, in particular the regional/subregional assessments. The proposed actions will contribute towards fulfilling the recommendations from the Tokyo workshop.

While awaiting the forthcoming deliberations and decisions of the MEP and Plenary on the Tokyo workshop recommendations and on the larger framework for IPBES action with respect to indigenous and local knowledge systems, a document on the 'Initial elements of an IPBES approach' was produced to provide a preliminary guide for the first round of IPBES assessments. It may also serve as a first step towards the guide on procedures and approaches for working with indigenous and local knowledge systems that would address all four IPBES functions. This document is available here or as IPBES/2/INF/1/Add.