Women4Biodiversity is officially a member of the Steering Committee for the CBD IUCN-ARO TSCC. The committee serves as the TSC Support Centre’s governance body, consisting of representatives from six Parties, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, gender (women) and youth sectors, and Women4Biodiversity has been invited to bring in the gender dimension to the work of the TSCC.

The IUCN Asia Regional Office (ARO) was formally designated as a Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centre (TSCC) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Technical and Scientific Cooperation Mechanism, established pursuant to CBD COP 15 Decision 15/8 supporting implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The designation of regional and subregional support centres was finalized through the CBD SBI-4 process in 2024. Further operational guidance under CBD COP 16 Decision 16/3, advanced implementation arrangements for the mechanism. The IUCN-ARO TSCC was operationalized during the 2025–2026 biennium, with the first virtual Steering Committee meeting convened in April 2026.

As of April 2026, the six countries aligned with IUCN-ARO TSCC, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Japan, Maldives, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka, are actively engaging with the IUCN-ARO TSCC through technical exchanges.

The IUCN-ARO TSCC serves countries across South Asia, and East Asia regions through a collaborative partnership model involving governments, CBD focal points, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) representative organization, the women4biodiversity and the youth representation through the Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) (IUCN ARO Biennium Workplan 2025-26).

SBI7, Item 10 will discuss the capacity-building and development and technical and scientific cooperation, under which the Subsidiary Body will be invited to review the progress made and prepare a recommendation for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventeenth meeting.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SIDE EVENT

• To highlight the importance of ensuring an inclusive governance mechanism for the TSCCs.
• To explore how a gender-responsive and inclusive governance could support the TSCCs to strengthen the whole-of-society approach.
• To showcase the initial sharing and experiences and the technical skills and support that women’s organizations, hopes to provide.