Central and Eastern Europe

The seventh session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury (INC7) opened Thursday and is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, March 15 at the Dead Sea, Jordan. Plenary convened in the morning for the opening of the meeting, which included welcome addresses by Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Director of the UN Environment Programme, and Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan, who was speaking on behalf of King Abdullah II. Delegates reconvened in plenary in the afternoon to continue work on the substantive items on its agenda, including hearing opening statements from regions and countries. In the evening, delegates attended a reception hosted by the Government of Jordan. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the 7th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC 7). The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF formats. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening Ceremony Delegates gather for the opening ceremony Jacob Duer, interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director Jordanian dancers perform a traditional dance to open the meeting Jordanian youth recite a pledge to protect the environment Side Events Side event discussing the Jordan Dead Sea industries, hosted by the Government of Jordan Side event 'Gearing up for implementation - what are the first steps?' hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Afternoon Plenary L-R: Masa Nagai, UNEP; Jacob Duer, intermin secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair; Sheila Logan, interim secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Nina Cromnier, Sweden, Rapporteur; and Andrea Lechner, BRS Secretariat Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group Reginald Hernaus, EU Agustina Camilli, Uruguay, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) Mick Saito, Japan, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Region David Kapindula, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the African Group Vladimir Lenev, Russian Federation, speaking on behalf of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Group Franz Perrez, Switzerland Zhao Wei Jun, China Kasimu Bayero, Nigeria Juan Miguel Cuna, the Philippines Sezaneh Seymour, US Luay Al Mukhtar, Iraq Tuti Hendrawati Mintarsih, Indonesia Around the Venue Delegates gather before the start of plenary Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, INC Chair; Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director; and Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan, welcomes delegates to the meeting Delegates from Brazil The youngest delegate attending the meeting A delegate reads the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) website Delegates from China review a document Delegates gather informally before the start of plenary Artifacts from Jordan on display around the venue Reception Hosted by the Government of Jordan Delegates gather for the reception hosted by the Government of Jordan Taher Shakhashir, Minister of Environment, Jordan, and Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director Delegates from Saudi Arabia Delegates throughout the evening

The Stakeholder Days preceding the Fourth Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 4 Stakeholder Days) opened on Saturday, 20 February 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the morning, participants met to hear opening statements from dignitaries. They also heard updates on IPBES and the implementation of its work programme thus far. In the afternoon, participants were informed on the work of the task forces, and experiences from the first thematic and methodological assessments, and the regional assessments. A series of breakout group sessions then convened to discuss regional assessments, address how to best utilize the outcomes of the assessments on pollinators, scenarios and modeling, and capacity building, and prepare a draft opening statement for the IPBES 4 Plenary. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report from the Stakeholder Days and 4th Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-4). Our summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Welcoming and Introductory Section Panel (L-R): Megat Sany Megat Bin Ahmad Supiar Supian, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, Malaysia; IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie; Anne-Hélène Prieur-Richard, Future Earth; Laurence Perianin, IUCN; and Raj Kumar, IUCN Asia IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie Megat Sany Megat Bin Ahmad Supiar Supian, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development Laurence Perianin, IUCNOwen Gaffney, Future Earth Anne-Hélène Prieur-Richard, Future Earth Raj Kumar, IUCN Asia Introduction to IPBES and Stakehoders Engagement IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie Malte Timpte, Museum für Naturkunde, GermanyDirk Schmeller, Department of Conservation Biology Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research Elikana Kalumanga, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaRomano DeVivo, Europe, Africa, Middle East (EAME), Syngenta Xiaojun Deng, Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change ResearchKarachepone Ninan, Centre for Economics, Environment and Society, Bangalore, India Million Belay, Movement for Ecological Learning and Community Action (MELCA), EthiopiaThomas Koetz, IPBES Secretariat Paul Leadley, Ecology, Systematics and Evolution Laboratory, University of Paris-Sud, FranceYoke Ling Chee, Third World Network Progress of the IPBES Work Programme Task Forces Panel (L-R): Owen Gaffney, Future Earth; Thomas Koetz, IPBES Secretariat; Ivar Baste, Chief of Scientific Assessment Branch, Division of Early Warning and Assessment in UNEP; and Brigitte Baptiste, Colombia Ivar Baste, Chief of Scientific Assessment Branch, UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment Thomas Koetz, IPBES Secretariat Aroha Mead, IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), New Zealand Brigitte Baptiste, Colombia TSU Pollination Panel (L-R): Vera Lúcia Imperatriz-Fonseca, University of São Paulo; Simon Potts, Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER); and Owen Gaffney, Future Earth Vera Lúcia Imperatriz-Fonseca, University of São Paulo Simon Potts, Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER) TSU Scenarios Panel (L-R): Karachepone Ninan, Centre for Economics, Environment and Society, Bangalore, India; Simon Ferrier, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); Owen Gaffney, Future Earth; Paul Leadley, the Ecology, Systematics and Evolution laboratory; and Rob Alkemade, The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) Karachepone Ninan, Centre for Economics, Environment and Society, Bangalore, India Simon Potts, Director of Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER) Stefan Hotes, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany Simon Ferrier, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Regional Assessments Panel (L-R): Amor Torre-Marin, Technical Support Unit: Europe and Central Asia Regional Assessment; Michele Walters, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa ; Felice van der Plaat, IPBES Secretariat; Sana Okayasu, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan; and Mauricio Bedoya, Head of Technical Support Unit-Americas Assessment Felice van der Plaat, IPBES Secretariat Mauricio Bedoya, Head of Technical Support Unit-Americas Assessment Sana Okayasu, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan Michele Walters, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa Amor Torre-Marin, Technical Support Unit: Europe and Central Asia Regional Assessment Breakout Groups Breakout Group on Regional Assessment Breakout Group on How to Use the Outcomes of the Pollination Assessment Breakout Group on How to Use the Outcomes of the Scenario Assessment Breakout Group on Capacity Building Participants Networking