IPSI Newsletter, April 2019

2019.04.26

Dear IPSI members and friends,

Greetings from the IPSI Secretariat in Tokyo, Japan. IPSI and its members continue to stay active in a wide variety of projects and activities related to maintaining and revitalizing socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS).

This month’s newsletter contains a preliminary announcement of the Eighth IPSI Global Conference (IPSI-8) to be held later this year, and upcoming surveys, as well as a report from a recent CBD expert workshop on a gender-responsive post-2020 global biodiversity framework. We are also pleased to share the latest newsletter and publication information from the GEF-Satoyama Project, and a case study from the Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Hong Kong.

As always, we hope you will contact us to submit any new case studies or other information about your activities, or if you have any questions or comments.

IPSI Secretariat

Preliminary Announcement: The Eighth IPSI Global Conference (IPSI-8) and Survey

We are very pleased to announce that the Eighth Global Conference of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI-8) is currently being planned for 2-6 September 2019 in Kumamoto, Japan, hosted by the Kumamoto Prefectural Government. Details of the venue and programme are still being developed, but IPSI members who are interested in attending are urged to take note of these dates. An official announcement with registration information will be sent out in the near future.

On a related topic, please take note that IPSI members will soon be sent surveys about your activities and experiences with IPSI over the past years. Completing the surveys will be considered a requirement for applicants to be considered for financial support to attend the conference, so we ask for your utmost cooperation. Please keep an eye on your email for further announcements.

Further information will be made available as we get closer to IPSI-8. For updates, please keep an eye on the event page on the IPSI website.

CBD Expert Workshop: Towards a gender-responsive post-2020 global biodiversity framework

One of a series of regional and thematic consultations held to provide input to the CBD's process of developing a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, an expert workshop was held 11-12 April to explore how to make the development and implementation of the framework gender-responsive, focusing on possible objectives, key messages, and substantive elements. The workshop was held by UN Women in New York, USA in partnership with the CBD Secretariat, with support from the Government of Canada and the CBD Friends of Gender Equality Group. IPSI Secretariat staff and a number of representatives from IPSI member organizations participated in the workshop as experts and provided insights and opinions on gender considerations in relation to SEPLS approaches. Recommendations from the workshop discussions will inform the discussion paper to be considered by the Open-ended Intersessional Working Group on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The framework is expected to be finalized at CBD COP 15 in Kunming, China in late 2020.

More information can be found on the CBD website here.

GEF-Satoyama Project Newsletter and Issue Brief Published in French and Spanish

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 from GEF-Satoyama Project activities at IPSI-7 and CBD COP 14. The newsletter is available on the GEF-Satoyama Project website here.

As reported in an earlier IPSI Newsletter, the GEF-Satoyama Project recently produced an Issue Brief on “SEPLS: Experiences overcoming barriers from around the world”, which has now been published in French and Spanish, available for download here (French) and here (Spanish).

Recent Case Study: Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Hong Kong

The IPSI Secretariat recently received a case study from partner organization the Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Hong Kong, titled “Living Water & Community Revitalization – An Agricultural-led Action, Engagement and Incubation Programme at Lai Chi Wo (Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme)”.

To combat the rapid loss of village culture and rural environment and communities amid urbanization in Asia, Policy for Sustainability Lab launched the Sustainable Lai Chi Wo Programme to revitalize the desolate, remote traditional farming landscape at Lai Chi Wo with a view to developing a sustainable rural revitalization model. Adopting a collaborative approach, the Programme conducted an array of activities, ranging from agricultural rehabilitation and community revitalization, to cultural reinvention, rural education, and biodiversity and hydrology-related research. The Programme has brought about major changes and impacts to Lai Chi Wo Village and the wider Hong Kong community. From 2013 to 2017, the Programme has engaged more than 10,000 individuals and stakeholders, who come from all walks of life from both the rural and urban areas.

For more information, please see 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.