IPSI-6 Official Report Published

We are proud to announce that the official report has been completed for the Sixth IPSI Global Conference (IPSI-6), which was held from 12 to 14 January 2016 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The report contains summaries of IPSI-6 events including the meeting of the IPSI General Assembly, the Public Forum, and the excursion to sites in the area. Whether you were able to attend the conference or not, please have a look at the report for some of the latest information on IPSI, its members and its activities.

The report, as well as reports from past IPSI Global Conferences, is available for download from the IPSI Global Conference webpage here.

IPSI involvement in CBD SBSTTA-20 and SBI-1

The IPSI Secretariat is looking forward to sending staff members to take part in two upcoming meetings to be held in Montreal, Canada for the Convention on Biological Diversity: the Twentieth Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-20) from 25 to 30 April, and the First meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-1) from 2 to 6 May. We look forward to providing support to all of our members who are parties to the Convention and also to seeing a lot of friends from the IPSI community.

If you or your organization is planning to attend either or both of the meetings, and especially if you are planning to hold side events, please be sure to contact the IPSI Secretariat and let us know. We will also be sharing more about side events and other information relevant to IPSI as we receive it. We look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully seeing you in Montreal.

COMDEKS Newsletter – A quarterly update of activities – Issue 15

The Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) programme is a unique global programme implemented by the UNDP as a collaborative activity under IPSI. The fifteenth issue of the COMDEKS Newsletter was recently published, highlighting:

(1) Certificate of honor to COMDEKS project in Kyrgyzstan
(2) Six IPSI Global Conference (IPSI-6) in Cambodia
(3) Best practice exchange for farmers in Brazil
(4) Reducing biotic pressure on National Park in India
(5) Portfolio updates: Turkey and Niger
(6) Photo story from Bhutan

The COMDEKS Newsletter is available for download on the COMDEKS website here.

New Member Introduction: Green Initiative NGO

Among the new members welcomed into the IPSI partnership at the last meeting of the IPSI Steering Committee is Green Initiative NGO, based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Green Initiative focuses mainly in the biodiversity conservation through the habitat conservation or restoration, and is also involved in project addressed to protect species threatened by other factors. Since 2014, it has been studying the snow leopard and other mammals of a remote and poorly known areas of the Altai Mountains in North Western Mongolia. Other activities include eco-volunteering expeditions and a number of projects in water conservation.

Green Initiative's main goal is maintaining the “natural dynamics” of the ecosystem (with the ecosystem as “dynamic” rather than “in equilibrium”), supporting a sustainable use of natural resources, ensuring a minimum rate cost/benefit to the local community. The approach is ensured by the high competence of the team and its network, enabling the NGO to contribute where it is needed, and supporting the local community in solving environmental issues. As such, Green Initiative states that they would like to welcome potential partners and funders to work with them, and express their wish for the best of success and prosperity for colleagues and friends of the network.

More information can be found on Green Initiative's website here.

Recent Case Studies:Unnayan Onneshan and Forest Peoples Programme (FPP)

The IPSI Secretariat actually received this case study report from partner organizations the Unnayan Onneshan and the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) - along with non-members the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and Nijera kori - among the founding materials for the partnership, but only recently managed to include it in our official list of IPSI case studies. We are happy to finally be able to share it publicly with our members and friends, as it contains a great deal of rich information that has helped to guide IPSI into the successful partnership it is today.

The study, titled "Resuscitating the Sundarbans: Customary Use of Biodiversity & Traditional Cultural Practices in Bangladesh", is a collaborative action research activity participated in by community members. It explores the nature of the Sundarban Reserve Forest, and the strategies for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use as well as the qualitative perspective of a number of communities living in the Sundarbans Impact Zone with the aim of highlighting the traditional resource users’ knowledge and practices about sustainable use and helping the Bangladesh government to implement Article 10(c) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Much more information can be found in the full write-up of the case study on the IPSI website here.

Contact

Please be sure to let the Secretariat know if there are any changes in your e-mail address or contact information.

Secretariat of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative
5–53–70 Jingumae
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925
Japan

Tel: +81 3-5467-1212
Fax: +81 3-3499-2828

Email: isi@unu.edu

If you have been forwarded this newsletter and would like to SUBSCRIBE, you can do so on the IPSI website here.