Format: in-person event 

Side event to: UN Biodiversity Conference COP16 

Organized by: IUCN and ICLEI

Partners: SBTN, UNEP-WCMC, Regions 4, Singapore National Parks, and BUNP

Contacts: Tony Nello, Ingrid Coetzee

 

Description:

The incorporation of a whole-of-government approach within the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework underscores the vital necessity for political will and comprehensive recognition across all levels of government. Local and subnational governments play a critical role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as the closest level of governance to communities and ecosystems they are best placed to act upon the opportunities and constraints for systemic change within their mandates and management.

The CBD Convention endorses the  participation of all subnational governments in shaping mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting, and review. In Decision 15/6 they are invited to develop, on a voluntary basis, commitments contributing to national biodiversity strategies and action plans and to the GBF, and to share them through the CBD recognized online platforms.  Moreover Decision 15/12 recognizes RegionsWithNature and CitiesWithNature, as the space where regions and cities can report on, and track progress against, their commitments to contributing to the implementation of the GBF Targets and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

 

However, issues remain around biodiversity metrics and science-based methodologies that allow for standardized reporting that considers local contexts and capacities. Furthermore, more resources and capacities are needed to translate this into practice and align national commitments with local actions. The side event will discuss biodiversity metrics, target-setting and available frameworks to measure subnational governments’ contributions to the GBF. Some of the resources that will be presented include:

• The IUCN Urban Toolbox and IUCN Urban Nature Indexes (UNI), science-based tools developed to support cities and subnational governments to mainstream nature into urban planning and decision-making, and measure cities’ ecological performance;
• The SBTN Cities’ Science-Based Targets for Nature programme, whose aim is to create a holistic, science-based target indicators framework that covers the impact of cities on both climate and other natural systems;
• The UNEP-WCMC initiatives, including their work as Secretariat of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, the UNI web-platform, and other nature trends; and
• CitiesWithNature and RegionsWithNature recognized as platforms by the SCBD for cities to report and track progress against the implementation of the GBF, which also offer numerous services like the Cities Biodiversity Index and the Berlin Urban Nature Pact

 

The side event will give a prominent role to subnational governments, who will have the opportunity to discuss current needs and challenges in measuring and reporting on biodiversity in the framework of the GBF. The points expressed by subnational government representatives will be addressed through the presentation of practical frameworks developed by international organizations and practitioners.

The side event will be co-hosted by IUCN and ICLEI, and supported by UNEP-WCMC, SBTN, and Regions4. The side event will include statements of support and ambition from high level representatives of different municipalities involved in international initiatives such as CitiesWithNature, the Cities Biodiversity Index, and the Berlin Urban Nature Pact. 

Agenda and Run of Show (90 minutes)

 

Agenda item	Speakers	Timing
Opening and moderation	Jean Lemire, Envoy for Climate Change, Northern and Arctic Affairs, Government of Québec, Canada	5 minutes
Scene-setting: the importance of biodiversity monitoring in subnational governments	Senior Representative of the South African Delegation   Back up speakers: Senior Representative of the Canadian Delegation	10 minutes
Moderated discussion on the cities and regions needs and challenges	Representative from Sao Paulo State Representative from Mexico City Representative from Berlin Representative from Cape Town   Back up speakers: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Glasgow, Del Carmen	35 minutes
Connected initiatives responding to the cities	Ingrid Coetzee, Director Biodiversity, Nature & Health, ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center CitiesWithNature Action Platform   Tony Nello, Programme Coordinator - Urban, IUCN  Urban Nature Indexes and IUCN Urban Toolbox   Wendy Yap, Director, International Biodiversity Conservation, National Parks Board Cities Biodiversity Index   Jonny Hughes, WCMC Chief Executive Officer & Senior Representative UNEP-WCMC Development of UNI web-platform and role of UNEP-WCMC   Erin Bilman, Executive Director,  SBTN SBTN Cities’ Science-Based Targets for Nature programme	25 minutes (5 min each)
Q&A	Involving all speakers - moderated by Jean Lemire, Envoy for Climate Change, Northern and Arctic Affairs, Government of Québec, Canada	20 minutes
Closing reflections and next steps	Regions4 representative	5 minutes