Building expert capacity in scenario development for regional and global assessments
| Project title | Building expert capacity in scenario development for regional and global assessments |
| Implementing Institutions | UNESCO, Paris, France Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité (FRB), Paris, France bioDISCOVERY core project of Future Earth, Orsay, France Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France United Nations University Institute for Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), Tokyo, Japan |
| Country(ies) | Not restricted to a specific country |
| Abstract | Scenarios are integral to IPBES assessments; they are key to quantify future perspectives on nature and natures’ benefits to people, and for science-based support of policy formulation. Capacity in the development of (participatory) scenarios is key for successful assessments and their use in policy support. The project facilitates exchanges between experts and ILC to increase the integration of diverse views and knowledge systems into scenarios, and provides opportunities for students, scientists and practitioners to participate in training courses to build capacity in scenario development. |
| Project Description | IPBES regional assessments build on existing scenarios and modelling exercises to describe the future of nature and nature benefits and to evaluate the potentials of policy strategies. Existing studies are assessed using the knowledge from local, indigenous and regional stakeholders. Management committees of regional assessment expressed the need to enhance capacity of experts involved in the assessments, and to increase support on scenarios and models for their assessments. We propose: 1) A workshop series, addressed at experts and indigenous communities. Aims are to enhance the quality of scenario analysis and synthesis, and to facilite the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge in the regional scenario assessments. Funding will cover travel and accommodation costs and subsistence; cost for workshops range from 50,000 to 100,000 USD depending on the number of participants. 2) Fellowships to participate in training courses. Many institutions offer training courses that cover scenario development, but interested participants often lack the financial means to attend. We will act as “matchmaker” by providing a catalogue on training courses, and funding to participate in a specific course. A comprehensive curriculum and a catalogue of institutions are developed by the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Scenarios Network. Fellowships are open to participants of all countries, helping them to build their capacity, and enabling them to successfully participate in future IPBES assessments. Participants will receive the funding necessary to attend and complete the course. |
| Project Objectives and expected Achievables | *Project Objectives* The objective of the proposed project is to increase the capacity of experts participating in the regional and global assessments of IPBES, in particular in terms of scenario development and application. In particular, the project aims to 1) increase capacity of ECR, practioners and scientists to develop scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services that are useful to IPBES assessments, the policy support and knowlegde generation function of IPBES, as well as of use to various stakeholder communities 2) enhance the use of scenarios and include ILK and stakeholder engagement in assessing and interpreting scenarios 3) increase the understanding of various groups of stakeholders and policy makers in terms of scenario development, use and application *Achievables and measureables of the project:* 1) number of applicants for training course scholarships 2) number of scientists and practioners proposing workshops, and number of ILK and other stakeholders represented in workshop participants 3) number of training course attendees nominated as experts for IPBES assessments 4) Potential quality (accreditation) standards for monitoring and assessment of training courses *Milestones:* Publication of course outline, links to training courses and announcement of scholarships Award of first round of scholarships Publication of workshop announcement Workshops conducted |
| Timeframe | > 3 years |
| Geographic Scale | Multinational |
| Seeking Resources for: | Project implementation |
| Type of Resources/Support needed: | Financial |