In 2000, the International Pollinator Initiative (IPI) was established (COP decision V/5, section II) at the Fifth Conference of Parties (COP V) as a cross-cutting initiative to promote the sustainable use of pollinators in agriculture and related ecosystems. A key element of the follow-up plan to the first International Pollinator Initiative is that countries develop and implement coherent and comprehensive policies that enable and foster activities to safeguard wild and managed pollinators and promote their functions and services.

In 2016, IPBES published ‘The assessment report on pollinators, pollination and food production. Later that year, at CBD COP 13, Parties endorsed the key messages from the IPBES summary for policymakers. This laid the groundwork for CBD COP 14 to adopt a second Plan of Action 2018 – 2030 for the International Pollinator Initiative. Another significant event followed the approval of the IPBES pollination assessment - the Coalition of the Willing, Promote Pollinators, was established. Members to Promote Pollinators declare that they see national strategies as an important means to enhance the protection of pollinators. The coalition is accepted as a Cancun commitment for enhanced implementation of the CBD. FAO and Promote Pollinators have cooperated in the development of several events.

The purpose of this side event is to provide an overview of several pollinator-related projects and initiatives that are ongoing or in preparation and that support the International Pollinator Initiative and its Plan of Action, specifically:

• Promote Pollinators / Naturalis Biodiversity Center support to members in the development of national pollinator strategies;
• Capacity building in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to protect pollinators from pesticides (Capacity building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries - ACP MEAs 3 project).
• Regional action to improve the protection of pollinating insects and pollination services in Latin America and the Caribbean