August 2012: The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has announced that comments have been received on the intersessional process. The intersessional process was agreed following the second session of the plenary meeting, during which IPBES was established, in Panama City, Panama, in April 2012. The process aims to facilitate operationalization of the Platform, support preparation for its first plenary meeting, and support development of its first work programme.

On Rules of Procedure for the Plenary of the Platform, the EU and its Member States focused their comments on the rules that still contain brackets, in particular the essential rules. On Procedures for the Preparation, Review, Acceptance, Approval and Publication of Assessment Reports and other Deliverables, the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) proposed that all scientific reports undergo an independent peer-review process to ensure scientific quality and policy relevance, managed by a separate subsidiary body of IPBES.

On Overview of Assessments, the Scientific Council of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) noted that CMS could contribute, through principles, to prioritizing assessments based on the global perspective offered by migratory species. On Capacity Building, the US recommends creation of a “young professionals” program, modeled after the Millennium Assessments version of a similar program.

On Receiving and Prioritizing Requests from Governments, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), noted that the CITES Standing Committee Working Group on IPBES intends to consider the development of a mechanism in CITES for conveying governments’ requests to IPBES from the Conference of the Parties (COP) or the Standing Committee. [IPBES News]