1 February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have signed an agreement to establish the International Ecosystem Management Partnership of UNEP (UNEP-IEMP), a global center located in Beijing and aimed at promoting ecosystem management in developing countries.

Launched as an initiative in November 2011, UNEP-IEMP is becoming a center based in CAS’ Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR). Focused on areas such as integrated knowledge management and science for policy, UNEP-IEMP has a mandate to: support UNEP’s South-South Cooperation Exchange Mechanism; promote an ecosystem approach in the green economy; and support relevant UNEP sub-programmes, such as Ecosystem Management and Climate Change. The center will also support multilateral environmental agreements and mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Among other things, UNEP-IEMP has pilot country projects in Mauritania, Nepal, Rwanda and Seychelles, and has completed eight policy papers on ecosystem management and green economy. According to UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, UNEP-IEMP aims to mobilize science to support policy-setting for sustainable ecosystem management. CAS President Chunli Bai expressed hope that the center could become a global platform for promoting “ecological civilization,” a priority for China that is now reflected in its overall development plan. [UNEP Press Release: Global Centre for Ecosystem Management Established by UNEP and China]