Meeting prep: UNU-IAS events on the Nagoya Protocol, GIAHS

The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol: Why Intellectual Property Still Matters
17 May 2013 (UNU-IAS, Yokohama, Japan)

This seminar by Kiyoshi Adachi from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will highlight recent work by UNCTAD on the policy space available for countries to use selected intellectual property tools in support of the international access and benefit-sharing system. Further information …

Experiences and Lessons of Dynamic Conservation and Sustainable Development  from Asian GIAHS Pilot Sites
28 May 2013 (UNU-IAS, Kanazawa, Japan)

Six pilot sites in China and two in Japan have been designated by FAO as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites for dynamic conservation and adaptive management. In addition, more sites in China and Japan are under consideration for GIAHS designation, and an application is also planned for a Korean site. This workshop will bring together experts from China, Korea and Japan, as well as local residents, to share experiences and lessons learned regarding biodiversity conservation and rural development. Further information …

 

Meeting review: UNU-IAS public symposium on indicators of resilience in SEPLS

Public Symposium held on Indicators of Resilience in SEPLS
Satoyama Initiative release, 1 May 2013

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN: Held on 22 April 2013 at the UNU-IAS, and focusing on the resilience of the world’s socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS), this symposium featured speakers from Bioversity International and the UN Development Programme, two member organizations of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative. In his opening remarks, Wataru Suzuki, Coordinator of the International Satoyama Initiative at UNU-IAS, provided some background on the long collaborative process that has led to the development and testing of a set of twenty indicators for resilience in SEPLS. Nadia Bergamini, Bioversity International, shared some of the results of the initial testing of the indicators and lessons learned; and emphasized their usefulness for establishing a common understanding at community-level of threats and solutions and for determining which strategies can be undertaken to strengthen resilience. Diana Salvemini, UNDP, presented the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative Project, a collaborative effort under IPSI, which supported local community activities in ten countries to promote sustainable landscape-level management approaches, and is projected to support activities in ten additional countries. Read the release, including links to presentations … Download the UNU-IAS policy report Indicators of Resilience in Socio-ecological Production Landscapes (SEPLS) [pdf] …

 

Resource: UNU-IAS TK and climate science toolkit

Traditional Knowledge and Climate Science Toolkit
Williams, C; Galloway McLean, K; Raygorodetsky, G; Ramos-Castillo, A; and Barrett, B
United Nations University, 2013 | ISBN: 978-92-808-4544-0

Indigenous communities have long, multi-generational histories of interaction with the environment that include coping with variability, uncertainty and change. However, climate-induced impacts on their territories and communities are anticipated to be both early and severe due to their location in vulnerable habitats, including small islands, high altitude zones, desert margins and the circumpolar Arctic. Climate change poses a direct threat to many indigenous societies due to their continuing reliance upon resource-based livelihoods. At the same time, resilience in the face of a changing environment is embedded in indigenous knowledge and know-how, diversified resources and livelihoods, social institutions and networks, and cultural values and attitudes. Attentiveness to environmental variability, shifts and trends is an integral part of their ways of life. Community-based and local knowledge may offer valuable insights on climate-induced changes, and complement broader-scale scientific research with local precision and nuance. Indigenous societies have elaborated coping strategies to deal with unstable environments, and in some cases, are already actively adapting to early climate change impacts. While the transformations due to climate change are expected to be unprecedented, indigenous knowledge and coping strategies provide a crucial foundation for community-based adaptation measures.

This toolkit provides access to articles, videos and various other resources that will assist indigenous peoples, local communities, policy makers and other stakeholders in accessing research on climate change adaptation and mitigation. It is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese. Download the toolkit [pdf] …

 

Resource: UNU-IAS policy report on indicators of resilience in socio-ecological production landscapes

Indicators of Resilience in Socio-ecological Production Landscapes (SEPLs)
Nadia Bergamini, Robert Blasiak, Pablo Eyzaguirre, Kaoru Ichikawa, Dunja Mijatovic, Fumiko Nakao and Suneetha M. Subramanian
UNU-IAS Policy Report 2013 no. 10 | ISBN: 978-92-808-4547-1 (pb)

This policy report provides an in-depth look at the importance of developing a holistic set of indicators for policy-makers and communities to better understand the resilience of socio-ecological production landscapes, which have been created over time through close interactions between humans and their surroundings. When wisely managed, SEPLs have the potential to sustain rich levels of biodiversity while enhancing human well-being. The report also shares first experiences and lessons learned from application of the indicators in Cuba’s Cuchillas del Toa Biosphere Reserve. Download the report [pdf] …

 

Resource: WIPO-UNU paper on the role of customary law in ABS and TK governance

The Role of Customary Law in Access and Benefit-Sharing and Traditional Knowledge Governance: Perspectives from Andean and Pacific Island Countries
Brendan Tobin
WIPO and UNU, April 2013

This paper examines the relationships between customary law, national and international regulation of TK and access to genetic resources and-benefit sharing (ABS), and human rights. It is based upon a desktop analysis of these issues and the deliberations and conclusions of a series of regional and sub-regional workshops held in Andean and South Pacific Island countries between 2003 and 2006. Section I provides an overview of issues relating to protection of TK and recognition of customary law. Section II addresses international recognition of customary law, focusing on the work of the CBD and the WIPO IGC. Section III examines the protection of rights of TK holders under international human rights law. Section IV reviews the status of customary law in Andean and Pacific Island countries. Section V provides an overview of the debates and conclusions of the various workshops. Section VI presents the conclusions of the study and proposals for future action. Download the paper [pdf] …

 

Meeting review: UNU-IAS Symposium on Satoyama-Satoumi governance

The New Commons: Governing Satoyama-Satoumi Landscapes for Human Well-Being
21 March 2013 (Kanazawa, Japan)

This symposium focused on the challenges facing the governance of satoyama and satoumi landscapes. Prof. Tohru Nakashizuka (Tohoku University) focused on the significance of biodiversity and ecosystem services for human well-being, presenting examples to show that biodiversity is an integral part of our daily lives. He highlighted potential risks including the vulnerability of monoculture planted forests to pests and disease, and the potential for new strands of infectious diseases largely caused by intensification of husbandry practices. Prof. Koji Nakamura (Kanazawa University) introduced the results of the seminal Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA) and its cluster analysis of the Hokushinetsu region, which was conducted during 2007–2010 across Japan with the input of more than 200 stakeholders. He explained that to build on the results of the JSSA, and fill in existing gaps in understanding and data, plans were in progress to conduct a regional assessment of satoyama/satoumi and human well-being in Ishikawa. Prof. Anantha Kumar Duraiappah (United Nations University International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change) built on the first two keynote presentations by explaining how the JSSA helped to provide a strong scientific foundation for looking at satoyama and satoumi. He went into detail on the evolving concept of a new commons, and offered one working definition of the new commons as the spatial boundary that contains different ecosystem types that together produce a critical/minimum set of regulating services (water purification, soil erosion control, flood protection, etc.) to produce provisioning services, such as agricultural production. Three short talks were then delivered by local stakeholders. Read the release …

 

Meeting prep: Nominations for IPBES Workshop on indigenous and local knowledge

IPBES Workshop on working with different knowledge systems
9-11 June 2013 (Tokyo, Japan)

Organized by UNESCO, UNU and the Ministry of Environment of Japan, on behalf of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the primary objective of this workshop is to identify procedures and approaches for building synergies between indigenous and local knowledge and science. Nominations by relevant experts and stakeholders should be submitted by 28 March 2013. The completed forms, accompanied by the CV of the nominee, are to be submitted before the deadline to ipbes.unep(at)unep.org.  Further information … View the table of IPBES intersessional activities … Download the nomination form [doc] …

 

Meeting prep: UNU/CBD informal meeting on the Nagoya Protocol on ABS

Informal meeting for the implementation of Articles 19 and 20 of the Nagoya Protocol
25-26 March 2013 (Tokyo, Japan)

Organized by Japan and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this informal meeting will discuss model contractual clauses, voluntary codes of conduct, guidelines and best practices and/or standards, as set out in Articles 19 and 20 of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS). The meeting also aims to assist governments in their implementation of the Nagoya Protocol by increasing awareness of different approaches used by relevant sectors involved in ABS activities. Further information …