IPSI Activities at CBD COP 14

The IPSI Secretariat recently took part in the Fourteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 14) from 17 to 29 November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. We were very pleased to see so many representatives of IPSI members at the conference, and we are happy to report that the Satoyama Initiative and SEPLS were once again recognized by the COP for our contributions to biodiversity, and that we found that recognition of our work in the conservation community in general continues to grow. We also helped to organize two side events related to SEPLS:

• “Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes for Biodiversity and Livelihood: Roles in Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” on 17 November, led by Conservation International

• “Consolidation and Replication of Effective Landscape Approaches for Biodiversity Conservation and Human Livelihoods” on 19 November, led by the IPSI Secretariat

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the co-organizers of these events and everyone who took part in them. We were also able to take part in a number of related events held parallel to the conference, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with all of our partners related to these important policy-making processes.

GEF-Satoyama Project Newsletter and Issue Brief

The IPSI collaborative activity “Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management in Priority Socio-ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes”, known as the “GEF-Satoyama Project” is an effort to “achieve societies in harmony with nature, with sustainable primary production sector based on traditional and modern wisdom, and making significant contributions to global targets for conservation of biological diversity” by working in targeted biodiversity hotspots around the world. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by Conservation International’s CI-GEF Project Agency and executed by Conservation International Japan in cooperation with the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS, the Secretariat of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative) and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).

The GEF-Satoyama Project recently produced its quarterly newsletter, including updates from project components and reports of the recent GEF Satoyama Consolidation Workshop held in Mahebourgh, Mauritius on August 21-24, 2018. The newsletter is available on the GEF-Satoyama Project website here.

One output of the workshop was also the production of an Issue Brief on “SEPLS: Experiences overcoming barriers from around the world”, which identifies challenges faced by SEPLS, including insufficient recognition of their value, disappearing traditional knowledge, and weak governance, and some suggestions and lessons learned from project subgrantees. The Issue Brief is available for download here.

 

New Member Introduction: GIERI

GIERI (Groupe d’Intervention Pour l’Encadrement Et La Réhabilitation Intégrale) or Intervention Group for Framing and Integral Rehabilitation is a non profit organization registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1997. GIERI’s mission is to contribute in building conditions of peace environment and to promote the community development in its range.  Adopting the Philosophy of  Australian Landcare principles, GIERI has several aims, including:

• Improving the nutritional requirements of the people by adopting appropriate operating framework for the rehabilitation of existing agrarian structures, victims of natural disasters or war;

• Participate in any action aimed at environmental protection and environmental sanitation;

• Rallying the community development environment based on the initiatives of the local population;

• Actively participate in advocacy activities for the promotion and socio-economic reintegration of youth;

• To contribute to the alleviation of poverty and vulnerable to disaster especially to facilitate their reintegration into the workforce;

• Promoting Carbon Sequestration by protecting the forest community.

• Promoting Agro-Ecology and Food Sovereignty.

In recent years with a return of peace and stability in the region, the focus of GIERI’s activities have been on land restoration and environmental works and social community, including the implementation of a project in partnership with Australian Landcare International to reforest the degraded slopes of Kabare and Kasha Hills. GIERI mobilised the community within the catchment of Lake Kivu to address issues of land degradation caused by deforestation for firewood and construction materials. Despite operating in a high-risk environment plagued by rebels, the community dreams of the role of agroforestry in restoring their soils and protecting their land to attract youth into farming rather than warfare.

For more information, please visit the GIERI website here.