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Call for Submissions

 

 

Indigenous and Local Knowledge for the Americas Regional Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The Americas regional assessment focuses on the following themes, amongst others:

  • status and trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services in the region
  • land degradation & restoration
  • sustainable use & conservation
  • invasive alien species & their control

Deadlines for Submission:  25 May 2016 

La versión en español se encuentra disponible aqui

A versão em português está disponível aqui

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is conducting assessments of biodiversity, ecosystems, and their contribution to a good quality of life. These assessments are to be based, in addition to scientific knowledge, on the knowledge, practices, observations and understandings of indigenous peoples and local communities.

The assessments address the interrelationships between biological diversity and society, including nature’s benefits to people, as well as their contribution to a good quality of life. They focus on biodiversity and ecosystems changes that affect food, water, energy, livelihoods and health. They also consider the importance of the natural world for social relationships, spirituality and cultural identity, and address issues of equity, including inter- and intra-generational equity.

If your community or organisation has relevant indigenous and/or local knowledge (ILK) to contribute, or if you know of projects or publications on ILK and biodiversity, its benefits for and relationships with local communities and indigenous peoples, then please submit your information on the links below.

The overall aim is to assess the current state of our natural environment, including its biological diversity and ecosystem functioning and benefits to people, while also identifying important trends, including potential responses to the positive and negative impacts of different factors, such as changing climatic or land-use regimes. There is also particular interest in identifying the more indirect factors underlying these trends, such as lifestyles, institutions, and social, economic and legal aspects.

The list of Americas countries and the scoping for the assessment can be found here.

Some key questions are:

  1. How does nature (biodiversity, ecosystems) contribute to the livelihoods, food security, and quality of life of indigenous peoples and local communities?
  2. How do indigenous peoples and local communities conserve, manage and create biological diversity and related ecosystem benefits to people?
  3. What changes in nature are being observed by indigenous peoples and local communities and what is driving those changes?
  4. What impacts do existing policies and development interventions have on nature, nature’s benefits to people and as a result on the quality of life of indigenous peoples and local communities?
  5. What gaps in knowledge need to be addressed in order to better understand how biodiversity is changing and what to do about it?

IPBES is conducting regional assessments in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe/Central Asia as well as in the Americas. It will also soon launch a Global Assessment....

Who can participate?

We seek input from indigenous and/or local knowledge holders from indigenous peoples and local communities, and their institutions and networks, ILK researchers/scientists and practitioners who are knowledgeable about indigenous peoples and local communities and their engagement/relationship with natural biodiversity and ecosystems.

How can you contribute?

By submitting information on:

  • Past or on-going projects informed by indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) about biodiversity, ecosystems and their benefits to people in the Americas region, land degradation and restoration, sustainable use and conservation of species and ecosystems, and/or invasive alien species and their control;
  • Scientific or grey literature on ILK about biodiversity, ecosystems and their benefits to people in the Americas region, land degradation and restoration, sustainable use and conservation of species or ecosystems, and/or invasive alien species and their control;
  • ILK holders, researchers or other knowledgeable individuals who are or have been involved in projects on ILK about land degradation and restoration, sustainable use and conservation of species and ecosystems, and/or invasive alien species and their control;
  • Indigenous peoples and local communities’ organisations, or organisations who work closely with indigenous peoples and local communities, and who are interested in hosting a sub-regional dialogue and sub-regional collection of ILK resources;

Invitation to participate in an International Workshop for the Americas region:

A limited number of contributors (ILK holders and ILK experts) will be invited to a Dialogue Workshop for the Americas Region to be held in Sucre, Bolivia, during the week of July 20-22, 2016. Travel grants will be made available for participants from developing countries. The workshops will bring ILK holders and ILK experts together with members of the scientific team responsible for carrying out the assessment to enrich the regional and thematic assessment work on biodiversity and ecosystem services. A further goal will be to engage ILK holders in IPBES processes and demonstrate the potential benefits and opportunities for their communities.

Please note that English and Spanish will be the primary working languages of meetings. However, we also encourage and welcome submissions and participation of Portuguese speakers.

All submissions will be reviewed by the IPBES Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems. Please indicate on your submission form that the information you provide may be used and eventually published in the framework of the IPBES assessment as a relevant case study. Please also indicate whether you would agree that your name be included in a list of ILK experts.

A fundamental principle of IPBES is full respect for indigenous and local knowledge. Therefore, submissions should not include secret, sacred or otherwise confidential knowledge without the free, prior and informed consent of the holders of that knowledge.

Deadline for submissions: 25 May 2016 

To make your submission please go here.

PLEASE NOTE that if you responded to the Call issued in 2015 for ILK for the Americas region, then you need not submit again. Your proposals will be taken into consideration. However, if you have additional information to add then you are welcome to apply again.

For those who have problems filling the online form, you may download the form here.

For additional information, please contact the Technical Support Unit for the IPBES Task Force at links(at)unesco.org

This is the third of a series of periodic calls for submission by the IPBES Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems.

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