29 January 2013: Held from 21-26 January 2013, in Bonn, Germany, the first session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-1) addressed a series of organizational, procedural and budgetary issues, including the election of its Chair, Bureau and Muldisciplinary Expert Panel.

The meeting was preceded by a “Stakeholders’ Day” on 20 January, facilitated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), and co-convened by the UN Environment Programme, UN Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Following intense consultations between regional groups, IPBES-1 decided that Zakri Abdul Hamid (Malaysia) will serve as the IPBES Chair and Robert Watson (UK) as the Vice-Chair for the next three years; there will be an opportunity for re-election of the Bureau members for one consecutive term; and the next IPBES Chair will be provided by the Western Europe and Others group (WEOG). The meeting also elected the remaining Bureau members, as well as the members of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, as nominated by regions. On the IPBES rules of procedure, issues related to the membership of regional economic integration organizations and admission of observers remained pending, with discussions to continue intersessionally and at IPBES-2.

The Plenary also discussed: possible institutional arrangements for its implementation; the procedure for receiving and prioritizing requests put to the Platform; arrangements for the Secretariat and the links between the Platform and the UN system; and addressed financial procedures. The Plenary agreed on steps towards the development of an initial work programme for 2014-2018 and agreed to an initial budget for the Platform. [IISD RS Coverage][Meeting Website] [IPBES takes big steps for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]