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On Monday morning, members of the media fraternity gathered in Medellín, Colombia for the official launch of the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration, moderated by Robert Spaull, IPBES Secretariat. Anne Lariguaderie, Executive Secretary, IPBES, highlighted that the assessment authors had analyzed 3000 scientific publications, and that the report had been reviewed by 200 registered peer reviewers to enhance its quality. She noted that the assessment had further been discussed by governments to enhance its policy relevance. Robert Watson, IPBES Chair, welcomed the assessment as the most comprehensive report on land degradation and restoration, underscoring its importance in addressing the implications of land degradation to the 3.2 billion people living on these lands. He highlighted the assessment’s links to conflict, human security, migration, food and water security, and noted it’s significance in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 15.3 on a zero-net land degradation neutral world. Bob Scholes, Co-Chair, Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment, highlighted that a team of 150 scientific experts as well as indigenous and local knowledge holders had provided input into the assessment. He stressed that the three year assessment reflects the broad status of knowledge in the area of land degradation and restoration, and is complemented by the “co-generation” of knowledge with policy makers through IPBES-6. Highlights of the Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment include the following: Land degradation undermines the wellbeing of 3.2 billion people worldwide. Land degradation is an underlying issue that can contribute to migration. Land restoration is a journey whose end-point may or may not be the original state of the land. It is important to be to be cognizant of the impacts of our consumer choices on land degradation. Ultimately, the cost of land restoration needs to be built into the "cost of doing business," and should be an ongoing consideration. The Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment is an effort towards achieving SDG Target 15.3 on a zero-net land degradation neutral world by 2030. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and daily reports from IPBES-6. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis report of IPBES-6, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment Co-Chair Bob Scholes, South Africa; IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie; and IPBES Chair Robert Watson IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie IPBES Chair Robert Watson Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment Co-Chair Bob Scholes Robert Spaull, IPBES Secretariat Judy Fisher, IPBES Expert Mariette Le Roux, Agence France-Presse (AFP) Matthew Potts, IPBES Expert Lisbeth Fog, Freelance Journalist Participants during the press conference Daily Web Coverage — About | Stakeholder Day | Opening Ceremony 18 Mar | 19 Mar | 20 Mar | 21 Mar | 22 Mar | 23 Mar | 24 Mar | 26 Mar | Summary Specific funding for coverage of IPBES-6 has been provided by the European Union (EU) and the IPBES Secretariat IISD Reporting Services is grateful to the many donors of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) and recognizes the following as core contributors to the ENB: the European Union and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. General Support for the Bulletin during 2018 is provided by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, Japanese Ministry of Environment (through the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies - IGES), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Switzerland (Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)), and SWAN International. Funding for translation of the Bulletin into French has been provided by the Government of France, Québec, and the Institute of La Francophonie for Sustainable Development (IFDD), a subsidiary body of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). IPBES Resources IPBES-6 Website and Documents IPBES-6 Annotated Provisional Agenda IPBES-6 Primers IPBES-6 Stakeholder Day Website IISD/ENB Meeting Coverage 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12) - Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People, 23-28 October 2017, Manila, Philippines 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, 6-16 September 2017, Ordos, China 12th Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF12), 1-5 May 2017, UN Headquarters, New York Stakeholder Dayand IPBES-5, 6-10 March 2017, Bonn, Germany UN Biodiversity Conference - Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Well-Being, 2-18 December 2016, Cancún, Mexico 8th Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, 31 May - 3 June 2016, Trondheim, Norway 16th Global Major Groups and Stakeholder Forum (GMGSF) and 2nd UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), 21-22 and 23-27 May 2016, UNEP headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya IPBES-4, 20-28 February 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Previous Meetings of the IPBES Plenary and Negotiations for an IPBES Meetings on an International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMOSEB) IISD Resources BIODIVERSITY-L - A Mailing List for News on Biodiversity and Wildlife Policy SDG Update Newsletter - A compilation of news, commentary and upcoming events published on the SDG Knowledge Hub SDG Knowledge Hub - An online resource center for news and commentary regarding the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Linkages Update - International Environment and Sustainable Development News © 2018, IISD Reporting Services. All rights reserved.

On Thursday, IPBES-6 delegates continued their discussion of the key findings of the assessment on land degradation and restoration and discussed how to proceed with three pending assessments of the first work programme. Delegates also started working on the development of the next work programme for IPBES. In the evening, plenary convened to finalize the regional assessments. Highlights of the day included the following: Plenary approved the summaries for policy makers (SPMs) of the four regional and subregional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia, and accepted the chapters of the assessment reports. On pending assessments, the budget group agreed to a preliminary costing, allowing to initiate work on two assessments in 2018 while increase the maximum number of lead authors from six to eight. Delegates agreed to initiate work on the thematic assessment on the sustainable use of wild species and the methodological assessment on diverse conceptualizations of multiple values of nature in 2018. Work on the thematic assessment on invasive alien species will be initiated in 2019. The contact group on land degradation and restoration continued refining the assessment’s SPM, including regarding the drivers of biodiversity, the benefits of avoiding land degradation, and the role of production and consumption patterns. Regarding future work, delegates agreed to develop a draft strategic framework up to 2030, decided to develop a rolling work programme, and began discussing the draft elements of that work programme. For more about the day’s events, read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and daily reports from IPBES-6. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis report of IPBES-6, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz and Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Contact Group on the Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment The dais during the Contact Group on the Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment Peter Bridgewater, Australia Delegates from France and Norway confer during the contact group Mary Rowen, US José Romero, Switzerland Ana Maria Rivero Santos, Colombia Diana Mortimer and Jim Harris, United Kingdom (UK) Sofía Treviño Heres, Mexico Georgina Catacora-Vargas, Plurinational State of Bolivia José Echeverría, Guatemala Grace Nangendo, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Louise Willemen, University of Twente, the Netherlands Matthew Potts, IPBES Secretariat Participants chat during a break in deliberations Contact Group on the Budget and Pending Assessments Tone Solhaug, Norway A view of the room during the contact group discussions Participants during the contact group Tallash Kantai, ENB Marina Samejima, Japan Participants during the contact group Andrew Stott, United Kingdom Thomas Koetz, IPBES Secretariat Thomas Brooks, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Birgit de Boissezon and Marco Fritz, European Union (EU) Contact Group, Review, Second Work Programme US delegates share a light moment during contact group discussions Ana María Hernández Salgar, Colombia Malta Qwathekana, South Africa Participants during discussions Contact Group on Review of the Platform and Development of the IPBES Work Plan IPBES Chair Robert Watson     Handover of the Chinese version of the IPBES Summary for Policy Makers for Pollination, Pollinators and Food Production to the IPBES Secretariat L-R: Hien Ngo, IPBES Secretariat, and Wenliu Zhang, China     Evening Plenary     Around the Venue        

On Wednesday, IPBES-6 delegates started to consider the summary for policy makers for the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration and discussed the review of the Platform. The contact group on the regional assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Americas reconvened to resolve outstanding issues. The budget group continued its deliberations. Throughout the day, delegates discussed how to craft short, clear, and understandable messages for policy makers. When discussing the lessons learned from the Platform’s internal review, several suggested that summaries for policy makers should be much shorter and simpler to ensure uptake by decision makers. Highlights of the day included the following: Three of the regional contact groups concluded their work in the late evening or early morning hours having worked through most of the night. The contact group on the Americas regional assessment concluded its work during lunch time, thus keeping the meeting on track to the public launch of four regional assessments on Friday. The contact group on the assessment on land degradation and restoration considered the SPM, including clarifications on infographics in the background section. Delegates discussed conclusions and lessons learned from the internal review of the Platform, including suggestions to improve the drafting process for SPMs and developing shorter SPMs with more effective messages. Five countries signed up to the Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators, an initiative established to develop follow-up actions based on the findings of the Thematic Assessment on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production adopted at IPBES-4. For more about the day’s events, read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and daily reports from IPBES-6. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis report of IPBES-6, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Contact Group on Land Degradation and Restoration The dais during the contact group Contact Group Co-Chair Ivar Andreas Baste, Norway Eva Spehn and José Romero, Switzerland Anki Weibull, Sweden Assessment Co-Chair Bob Scholes, South Africa Shonisani Munzhedzi, South Africa Mary Rowen, US Mariam Akhtar-Schuster, Germany Hayo Haanstra, the Netherlands Karin Zaunberger, European Union (EU) Joanne Perry, New Zealand Ana Maria Rivero Santos, Colombia Contact Group Co-Chair Fundisile Goodman Mketeni, South Africa The Turkish delegation Contact Group on the Review of the Platform L-R: Contact Group Co-Chairs Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana and Robert Watson, UK; and Thomas Koetz, IPBES Secretariat Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico Malta Qwathekana, South Africa Delegates from France Bonnie Myers and Stephanie Aktipis, US Larbi Sbaï, Morocco Marina Samejima, Japan Marco Fritz, EU Hilde Eggermont, Belgium A view of the room during the contact group Americas Regional Assessment Contact Group Participants at the Americas regional assessment contact group finalizing their deliberations Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators Event Signatory ceremony adding Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ireland to the Coalition for the Willing on Pollinators IPBES Chair Robert Watson’s 70th Birthday Celebration Around the Venue A view of Medellín from the venue (photo courtesy of Claudia Friedrich)

IPBES-6 delegates met briefly in plenary in the morning to take stock of progress and finalize several operational decisions. The Co-Chairs of the contact groups on the regional assessments provided updates and outlined next steps towards finalizing the negotiations in the contact groups. Budget contact group Co-Chair Spencer Thomas reported that the Secretariat had provided clarity on the three budget scenarios to the group. Delegates then resumed negotiating the summaries for policy makers (SPMs) of the regional assessments in four contact groups. The day’s highlights included the following: France offered to host the next session of the Plenary in Paris in May 2019. The contact group for the Africa regional assessment discussed means of implementation as well as governance issues to ensure effective follow-up to the assessment’s findings in the region. The contact group for the Americas regional assessment discussed how to best display and explain the scenarios used to outline different possible pathways to sustainability. The contact group for the Asia and the Pacific regional assessment discussed whether to use the concept of nature’s contributions to people exclusively or in tandem with the concept of ecosystem services and what the implications of using both concepts would be. The contact group for the Europe and Central Asia regional assessment discussed how to balance achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the scenario archetypes. An informal group met over lunchtime to discuss cross-cutting issues and harmonize the use of terms, such as biocapacity, ecological footprint, nature’s contributions to people, and ecosystem services. For more about the day’s events, read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and daily reports from IPBES-6. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis report of IPBES-6, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Emmanuelle Matras Swynghedauw, France, presents her country's offer to host #IPBES7 in Paris, France, in May 2019 IPBES Chair Robert Watson, United Kingdom (UK) Participants during plenary Ana María Hernández Salgar, Colombia Africa Regional Assessment Contact Group Co-Chair Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana Maria Manguiat, IPBES Legal Advisor Europe and Central Asia Regional Assessment Contact Group Co-Chair Ivar Andreas Baste, Norway Americas Regional Assessment Contact Group Co-Chair Brigitte Baptiste, Colombia Asia and Pacific Regional Assessment Contact Group Co-Chair Youngbae Suh, Republic of Korea Keiichi Nakazawa, Japan Delegates from Morocco Europe and Central Asia Regional Assessment Contact Group The dais during the contact group. L-R: Maximilien Gueze, IPBES Secretariat; Felice Van Der Plaat, IPBES Secretariat; Amor Torre-Marin Rando, IPBES Secretariat; Contact Group Co Chair Ivar Andreas Baste, Norway; Assessment Co-Chair Markus Fischer; Assessment Co-Chair Mark Rounsevell, UK; Assessment Coordinating Lead Author Paula A. Harrison, UK; and Assessment Coordinating Lead Author Jennifer Hauck, Germany. Torbjörn Ebenhard, Sweden Antonin Vergez, France Gabriele Obermayr, Austria Horst Korn, Germany Assessment Coordinating Lead Authors Paula A. Harrison, UK, Jennifer Hauck, Germany José Romero, Switzerland Africa Regional Assessment Contact Group Participants during the contact group Eefje den Belder, IPBES Technical Support Unit (TSU) Scenarios and Modelling, the Netherlands, and Anicia Maoela, TSU Africa Vita Onwuasoanya, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS) Prudence Tangham Galega and Ibrahim Linjouom, Cameroon Ahmed El Khouly, Egypt A small drafting group during the afternoon meeting of the contact group Hatem Ben Belgacem, Tunisia Agnès Hallosserie, France Assessment Lead Author Laura Pereira, South Africa Interpreters at the contact group Delegates during informal consultations outside the contact group room Americas Regional Assessment Contact Group Participants listen to the Co-Chairs Janine Murray, Canada Luciano Donadio Linares, Argentina Participants, including members of the CBD Secretariat, discuss the cross-cutting aspects of the regional assessments Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico Ana María Hernández Salgar, Colombia Asia and Pacific Regional Assessment Contact Group Participants and the dais during the contact group Joanne Perry, New Zealand Co-Chair Madhav Karki, Nepal Delegates from France and the European Union consulting A small group work on outstanding issues IPBES Fellows Workshop Fellows participating as authors in the global, regional, and land degradation and restoration assessments gathered for a capacity development training workshop on IPBES policy processes during #IPBES6. Eduardo Sonnewend Brondizio, addresses the IPBES Fellows IPBES Fellows group photo Around the Venue Delegates in line for translation headsets before the session

On Monday, IPBES-6 delegates continued discussing the key findings of the four regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services in contact groups throughout the day and in the evening. While each group focused on the specific messages of its respective assessment, several cross-cutting concerns emerged during the day; most prominently the use of the concept of ‘nature’s contributions to people.’ Introduced by the scientists of the IPBES’ Multilateral Expert Panel and adopted at IPBES-5, the approach aims to better reflect the complex relationship between humans and nature, and the diversity of perspectives on those relationships. Other cross-cutting issues included the relevance of biodiversity for different economic sectors and the need to ensure that the messages in the summaries for policy makers (SPMs) are backed by strong evidence. Highlights of the day included the following: The contact group on the Asia-Pacific assessment progressed in the first reading of the draft SPM and began tackling outstanding issues. The contact group on the America’s assessment diligently discussed definitions of terms and concepts, and how to reflect them in the SPM. The contact group on the Africa assessment held extended discussions on drivers of biodiversity loss. The contact group on the Europe and Central Asia assessment debated on information consistency and how to ensure that messages are irrefutable and policy-relevant. Throughout the day, delegates discussed, in contact groups and in the corridors, the implications of the concept of ‘nature’s contributions to people’ and how to use it alongside the concept of ecosystem services. For more about the day’s events, read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and daily reports from IPBES-6. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis report of IPBES-6, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Europe and Central Asia Regional Assessment Contact Group L-R: Maximilien Gueze, IPBES Secretariat; Yuka Otsuki Estrada, IPBES Secretariat; Amor Torre-Marin Rando, IPBES Secretariat; Contact Group Co-Chair Ivar Andreas Baste, Norway; Assessment Co-Chair Markus Fischer, Switzerland; Assessment Co-Chair Mark Rounsevell, United Kingdom (UK); Berta Martín-López, Assessment Coordinating Lead Author; Mike Christie, Assessment Lead Author, UK; and Andrew Church, Assessment Coordinating Lead Author Contact Group Co-Chair Ivar Andreas Baste, Norway Mike Christie, Assessment Lead Author, UK Assessment Co-Chair Mark Rounsevell, UK Assessment Co-Chair Markus Fischer, Switzerland Mette Gervin Damsgaard, Denmark José Romero, Switzerland Trine Hay Setsaas, Norway Anna Trakhtenbrot, Israel Americas Regional Assessment Contact Group Participants during the contact group Sarah Weiskopf and David Reidmiller, US Georgina Catacora-Vargas, Plurinational State of Bolivia Ana María Hernández Salgar, Colombia Assessment Co-Chair Jake Rice, Canada The dais during the contact group Asia and Pacific Regional Assessment Contact Group The dais during the contact group Contact Group Co-Chair Youngbae Suh, Republic of Korea; and Assessment Co-Chair Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu, Sri Lanka Joanne Perry, New Zealand Karin Zaunberger, European Union (EU) Thomas Brooks, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Naeem Ashraf Raja, Pakistan Peter Bridgewater, Australia Africa Regional Assessment Contact Group Assessment Co-Chair Jo Mulongoy, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Carl Fiati, Ghana Contact Group Co-Chair Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Ghana Prudence Tangham Galega, Cameroon Mariteuw Chimere Diaw, Assessment Coordinating Lead Author, Senegal Larbi Sbai, Morocco Participants during the contact group IPBES Fellows Workshop Participants engage in communication activities Signing Ceremony between IPBES and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) L-R: Tim Hirsch, GBIF, and IPBES Executive Secretary Anne Larigauderie Around the Venue