Call for nominations: global assessment and sustainable use of biodiversity scoping

Posted by on Mar 14, 2016 in News, Nominations | 0 comments

This call for nomination is now CLOSED.

DEADLINE: April 25

Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides are disappearing at unprecedented rates. Around the world, policymakers are making decisions that affect biodiversity and they seek additional scientific knowledge in order to understand the consequences at local, regional, and global scales. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body dedicated to bridging this knowledge gap to improve the use of science in decision making at all policy levels.

IPBES is currently seeking experts in natural science, social science, policy, and/or indigenous and local knowledge systems to participate in two important processes addressing biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The Ecological Society of America is assisting the U.S. government in identifying U.S. experts and fellows for the following processes:

  1. A Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The first authors meeting will be held on August 15-19, 2016 in Bonn, Germany. There will be more in subsequent years. Both experts and fellows will participate in this assessment process.  This assessment will assess the state of knowledge on the interaction between humans and nature, including biodiversity and the structure and functioning of ecosystems.  In doing so, it will strengthen the science-policy interface on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem goods and services by providing the knowledge and policy-support tools needed for informed decision-making by Governments, the private sector and civil society.
  2. A workshop to scope the thematic assessment of the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity. The meeting will be held on August 2-4, 2016, Bonn, Germany. Only experts are invited to participate in the scoping process.  Recognizing that human use of wild species is a dominant driver of change in biodiversity, this assessment will assess approaches to enhancing the sustainable use of wild species.  Such uses include food and medicine, raw materials and energy supplies, and ornamental materials. The assessment will take an integrative approach, recognizing the inseparable unity of nature and human culture.

HOW TO APPLY (EXPERTS):

Expert nominees must meet the following criteria:

  • 3 years of experience in related issues
  • Products or publications relevant to the deliverable
  • Ability to support their travel to meetings
  • Ability to participate in person at the meeting for the expert group

ESA invites interested experts to send the following information to ipbes@esa.org.

For the Global Scoping, use this subject line: “Firstname lastname global IPBES”

For the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, use this subject line:  “Firstname lastname sustainable IPBES”

In the text of the email:

  • Full name, gender, nationality, address, phone number, email address
  • Current position and name of employer
  • Education (degree(s), relevant to the deliverable selected)
  • Publications and products relevant to the deliverable selected (maximum 5)
  • Supporting statement (400 words maximum) why you are interested in contributing to this deliverable, and contribution you would like to make
  • Confirmation that you have financial support for your travel and can attend meetings during the periods listed above

Attached to the email: a brief resume/c.v. (2-3 pages).

IPBES FELLOWSHIP PILOT PROGRAM: 

The IPBES young fellows pilot program provides an  opportunity for individuals in the early stages of their careers in the area of social, economic and biological sciences, policy development and indigenous and local knowledge, related to biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Early career experts interested in participating in the global assessment process should apply through the IPBES Fellowship Pilot Program. This is a pro bono opportunity to become join teams of international experts in drafting the sections of the global assessment.

The Ecological Society of America is NOT accepting nominations for the IPBES Fellowship Pilot Program. Fellows should be nominated by their own institutions or universities, not by ESA. These nominations should be submitted to IPBES directly.

Fellows should ensure that they:

  • are available for the August 15-19, 2016 meeting
  • are able to make a commitment of up to 15 percent of their time in the assessment period
  • are able to fund their own travel, or have institutional travel support.

Click here to learn more and for the application form.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

ESA will review your information.  In order for ESA to review your qualifications in time, we need your information no later than April 25. We will not be able to review nominations received after that date.

Individuals who meet the criteria listed above will be invited to submit their applications to IPBES via an online web form. ESA will inform the U.S. government that we have recommended your application.

We recognize that this is a very challenging schedule, but believe U.S. engagement in IPBES is important and hope that you will volunteer.

If you have general questions about IPBES or about the expert nomination process, please email them to ipbes@esa.org. If you have questions about the fellowship process, please contact tsu.capacitybuilding@ipbes.net.

Thank you for your interest and support of this important international effort!

 

Photo Credit: Moyan Brenn

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