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Decision COP XIII/15
CBD/COP/DEC/XIII/15

Implications of the IPBES assessment on pollinators, pollination and food production for the work of the Convention

The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling decision III/11, annex III, decision V/5, annex I, and decision VI/5, annex II,
Highlighting the essential role of the abundance and diversity of pollinators, especially wild pollinators as well as managed pollinators, for food production, nutrition and human well being, the need to address threats to pollinators and pollination, and recognizing the contribution of pollinators to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goals 2, 3, 8 and 15,
Recognizing the potential to enhance and secure crop production by increasing the abundance and diversity of pollinators through protection of the plants and habitats on which they depend for foraging and nesting,
Noting the relevance of the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators for the mainstreaming of biodiversity in the food and agriculture sectors,
Noting also the importance of pollinators and pollination for all terrestrial ecosystems, including those beyond agricultural and food production systems, and recognizing pollination as a key ecosystem function that is central to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity,
Aware of the trade-offs and synergies that exist between pollinator management options and other elements of agricultural systems,
Informational
1.Welcomes the Summary for Policymakers of the thematic assessment on pollinators, pollination and food production approved by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services at its fourth session, in Kuala Lumpur, on 26 February 2016,  as well as the full assessment report that was accepted by the Plenary;
Informational
2.Endorses the key messages of the Assessment;
Operational Active Parties Other Government(s) Relevant organizations
3.Encourages Parties, other Governments, relevant United Nations and other organizations, as well as multilateral environment agreements, and stakeholders to use, as appropriate, the Assessment, in particular the examples of responses outlined in table SPM.1, to help guide their efforts to improve conservation and management of pollinators, address drivers of pollinator declines, and work towards sustainable food production systems and agriculture;
Informational
4.Welcomes the tools and guidance developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners under the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators, including those for the rapid assessment of pollinators’ status, the economic valuation of pollination, the determination of the risk of pesticides, the evaluation of pollination deficit, the evaluation of pollinator-friendly practices, and policy mainstreaming;
Informational
5.Takes note of the establishment of the coalition of the willing on pollinators in the context of the “Cancun Commitments and Coalitions” and invites other Parties to consider joining this coalition; 
Operational BUSINESSES
6.Encourages businesses involved in the development, manufacturing and sale of pesticides, as appropriate, to take into account the findings of the Assessment in their activities, including in developing and revising risk assessments of products, applying the precautionary approach in line with the preamble to the Convention and be fully transparent in releasing the results of all toxicity studies consistent with applicable international, regional and national standards and frameworks;
Operational Active Parties Other Government(s) Relevant organizations OTHERS
7.Encourages Parties, and invites other Governments and other relevant organizations and stakeholders, taking into account national circumstances, as appropriate:

POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

(a)To integrate consideration of issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators in agriculture and forestry policies, national biodiversity strategies and action plans, national adaptation plans for climate change, national action programmes for combating desertification and other relevant national policies plans, and programmes, taking into account the values of pollinators and pollination, inter alia, to promote the implementation of the actions below, to improve the management of pollinators, to address drivers of pollinator declines and to reduce the crop yield gaps due to pollination deficit;

PROMOTING POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY HABITATS

(b)To promote diversity of habitats and production systems in the landscape through, inter alia, support to ecologically based agriculture (including organic agriculture) and diversified agricultural systems (such as forest gardens, home gardens, agroforestry, crop rotation and mixed cropping and livestock systems), and through conservation, management and restoration of natural habitats, to enhance the extent and connectivity of pollinator friendly habitat;
(c)To promote conservation, management and restoration of patches of natural and semi-natural habitats on farms, and in urban and other developed areas, as appropriate, to maintain floral resources and nesting sites for pollinators;
(d)To promote cropping systems and conservation, management and restoration of grasslands and rangelands that enhance the availability of floral resources and nesting sites over time and space;

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF POLLINATORS, AND REDUCING RISK FROM PESTS, PATHOGENS AND INVASIVE SPECIES

(e)To enhance the floral diversity available to pollinators using mainly native species and reduce the dependence of managed pollinators on nectar-replacements, thereby improving pollinator nutrition and immunity to pests and diseases;
(f)To promote genetic diversity within populations of managed pollinators;
(g)To improve hygiene and control of pests (including the Varroa mite and the Asiatic wasp, Vespa velutina) and pathogens in managed pollinator populations;
(h)To monitor and manage the movement of managed pollinator species, sub-species and breeds where appropriate, among countries, and as appropriate within countries, to limit the spread of parasites and pathogens to managed and wild pollinator populations, and to prevent the introduction of potentially invasive pollinator species outside their native ranges;
(i)To prevent or minimize the risk of introducing invasive alien species harmful to wild and managed pollinators and the plant resources on which they depend and to identify and evaluate such risk;

REDUCING RISK FROM PESTICIDES, INCLUDING INSECTICIDES, HERBICIDES AND FUNGICIDES

(j)To develop and implement national and as appropriate regional pesticide risk reduction strategies and to avoid or reduce the use of pesticides harmful for pollinators, for example, by adopting Integrated Pest Management practices and biocontrol, taking into account the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization;
(k)Where pesticides pose a risk to pollinators, to improve pesticide application practices, including technologies to reduce drift, to reduce exposure of pollinators;
(l)To promote weed management strategies that take into account the need for pollinator forage, nutrition and nesting sites;
(m)To improve, as appropriate, risk assessment procedures for pesticides and, where necessary, for living modified organisms to better take into account possible impacts, including sublethal and indirect effects, on both wild and managed pollinators, including, inter alia, a wider range of pollinator taxa, beyond honeybees and managed bumblebees, and toxicological studies, in risk assessment protocols, applying the precautionary approach in line with the preamble of the Convention, consistent with international obligations and taking into account climate variations and cumulative effects;
(n)To avoid or minimize the synergistic effects of pesticides with other drivers that have been proven to pose serious or irreversible harm to pollinators;

ENABLING POLICIES AND ACTIVITIES

(o)To promote education and public awareness of the value of pollinators and of the habitats that support them, and of the need to reduce threats to these species and their habitats;
(p)To integrate consideration of issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, including wild pollinators, into agricultural extension services, using approaches, as appropriate, such as farmer field schools;
(q)To develop and implement incentives for farmers and indigenous peoples and local communities to protect pollinators and pollinator habitats, for example through benefit-sharing schemes, including payments for pollinator services schemes, and remove or reduce perverse incentives consistent with applicable international obligations, such as causing the destruction of pollinator habitats, overuse of pesticides and simplification of agricultural landscapes and production systems;
(r)To promote and support access to data and use of decision support tools, including, where appropriate, land use planning and zoning, to enhance the extent and connectivity of pollinator habitats in the landscape, with the participation of farmers and local communities;
(s)To protect and promote traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, protect traditional and established land rights and tenure, as appropriate, and to promote biological and cultural diversity, and the links between them,  for the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators including diverse farming systems;

RESEARCH, MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

(t)To enhance monitoring of the status and trends of all pollinators, pollinator friendly habitats and pollinator community structure as well as the identification of potential pollinator deficits using consistent and comparable methodologies;
(u)To build taxonomic capacity on pollinators;
(v)To assess the benefits of pollinators and pollination, taking into account the economic value to agriculture and food production and the value to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as cultural and other values;
(w)To undertake research on the socioeconomic implications of pollinator decline in the agricultural sector;
(x)To promote and share further research to address gaps in knowledge identified in the Assessment, as appropriate and in accordance with national legislation, including the effects of the partial loss of pollinators on crop production, and potential impacts of pesticides, in particular neonicotinoids and other systemic pesticides, taking into account their possible cumulative effects, and of living modified organisms, on pollinator populations, under field conditions, including differential impacts on managed and wild pollinators, and on social versus solitary pollinators, and the impacts on pollination of both crop and non-crop plants over both the short and long term, and under different climatic conditions;
(y)To promote further research to identify practical ways that pollinator-friendly practices can be integrated into farming systems as part of efforts to increase production and mainstreaming of biodiversity into agricultural production systems;
(z)To promote further research to identify risks to pollination under climate change and potential adaption measures, including the potential loss of keystone species and their effect on ecosystem resilience;
(aa)To promote further research and analysis on pest management, taking into account the impact of drivers of pollinator decline, to support development of more feasible and sustainable alternatives;
Operational Implemented Parties Other Government(s) Relevant organizations
8.Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to provide the Executive Secretary with information on relevant national initiatives and activities to promote the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators and requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to compile this information, including information in the national reports, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting held prior to the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
Operational Active International organizations
9.Encourages academic and research bodies, and relevant international organizations and networks to promote further research to address gaps in knowledge identified in the Assessment, including the issues identified in paragraph 7, subparagraphs (t) to (aa), above, to expand research to cover a wider variety of pollinators and to support coordinated global regional and national monitoring efforts and build relevant taxonomic capacity, especially in developing countries, where there have been fewer research and monitoring efforts to date;
Operational Implemented Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity FAO
10.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and in collaboration with other partners, to review the implementation of the International Initiative on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators and prepare a draft updated and streamlined plan of action, including capacity-building, based on the Assessment and including the most recent knowledge, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting held prior to the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
Operational Implemented Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
11.Also requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, in partnership with relevant organizations and indigenous peoples and local communities, to compile and summarize information on pollinators and pollination relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in all ecosystems, beyond their role in agriculture and food production for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a meeting held prior to the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
Operational Implemented Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
12.Further requests the Executive Secretary to bring the present decision to the attention of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture;
Operational Active Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

13. Requests the Executive Secretary, in view of the variance in the amount of information on the status and trends of pollinators and pollination among regions, with significant gaps in data, and also limitations in capacity for the identification, monitoring and management of pollinators, in many developing countries, in particular the least developing countries and small island developing States, and in countries with economies in transition, in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other relevant organizations, subject to the availability of resources and avoiding duplication of efforts:

(a) To promote, as a priority, efforts to address data gaps and capacity for monitoring the status and trends of pollinators and pollination in developing countries, in particular those in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania;

(b) To identify and develop proposals for strengthening capacity related to pollinators and pollination, and supplementary regional assessments, in particular for Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania, to be integrated into the updated and streamlined plan of action of the International Initiative on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators referred to in paragraph 10 above;

14. Invites the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to give due attention to the theme of pollinators and pollination in the ongoing regional/subregional assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration and in the work of the task force on capacity-building;

15. Encourages Parties, other Governments and organizations in a position to do so, to support capacity-building and technical and scientific cooperation, to address the gaps and limitations referred to in paragraph 13, inter alia building upon relevant traditional and local knowledge;

16. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources, to compile information on best practices, tools and lessons learned related to the monitoring and management of pollinators and pollination and make them available through the clearing-house mechanism and other means.

Body
Conference of the Parties (COP)

Meeting
COP-13
Thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
4 - 17 December, 2016
Cancun, Mexico

Documents
CBD/COP/14/INF/24
Key findings from the four IPBES Regional Assessments of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
CBD/COP/14/INF/8
Review of pollinators and pollination relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in all ecosystems, beyond their role in agriculture and food production
CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/16
Global survey of honeybees and other pollinators
CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/19
Relevant initiatives and activities to promote the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators
CBD/SBSTTA/22/INF/21
Review of pollinators and pollination relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in all ecosystems, beyond their role in agriculture and food production
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