The UN Biodiversity Conference, was held from 1 to 17 December 2016 in Cancun, Mexico, made up of several important biodiversity-related events, including the Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 13), the the Eighth COP-MOP of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP 8), the Second COP-MOP of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (COP-MOP 2) and a number of other related events.

IPSI Secretariat staff attended the conference and were very happy to see a large number of IPSI members and other familiar faces among the participants, and encouraged to find that IPSI continues to increase its stature in the world of international policy-making processes. Some of the highlights are as follows:

• Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi of the United Nations University contributed to public awareness of the Satoyama Initiative by taking part in the High-Level Segment and making a statement in the COP 13 opening plenary session. The drafted text of the statement can be read here.
• Once again, the Satoyama Initiative and IPSI are recognized in the outcome decisions of the COP.
• In addition to the negotiations at COP 13, a large number of side events and others were held. The IPSI Secretariat co-organized two side events on the Satoyama Initiative: “Strategic Action for Mainstreaming Biodiversity: Contributions of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) to Biodiversity and Human Well-Being” on 6 December; and “Contributions of funding mechanisms under the Satoyama Initiative to mainstreaming biodiversity for well-being” on 8 December. Both were well-attended and featured many interesting presentations from members of the IPSI family.
• Staff members also contributed to the 3rd Science for Biodiversity Forum, the Muuchtanbal Summit on Indigenous Experience, the CEPA Fair and other side events including “Improving the evidence base on the effectiveness of forest conservation and rural livelihood initiatives in delivering social and ecological benefits” organized by our friends at Conservation International.