The UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) has published a list of potential regional support centres to promote biodiversity-related collaboration on science, technology, and innovation.
The report included advice on the most suitable entities and organisations, as well as the number of hubs required, compiled by CBD’s Informal Advisory Group on Technical and Scientific Cooperation.
In the analysis, the group proposed three separate scenarios with 13, 15, and 19 support centres in the five continents for review. Signatories to the Global Biodiversity Framework are invited to submit their positions by Apr. 18.
The role of the support centres will be to provide countries, especially developing ones, with access to information on “opportunities for technical and scientific cooperation, technology transfer and innovations, including biotechnology research” to enforce their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, as was outlined in a decision during COP15.
The creation of the centres aims, among other things, to mobilise resources for projects, while maximising synergies between countries.
THREE SCENARIOS
According to the first scenario, a total of 13 support centres will be established in different geographic regions – three in Africa, three in Asia, three in the Americas, three in Europe, and one in Oceania.
Considering the analysis of the geographic coverage of those 13 centres, “this scenario would result in several countries not being covered (five in Africa, two in the Americas, 14 in Asia, and eight in Europe)”, the UN group noted.
To address the risk, the advisory group proposed a more comprehensive option with 15 centres listed, considered by the UN body as the “optimal” solution, with fewer gaps and overlaps between countries and regions.
This scenario included:
- Four centres in Africa: the Central African Forest Commission, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory, and the Ecological Monitoring Center
- Three centres in the Americas: the Humboldt Institute, the Caribbean Community, and the Central American Commission on Environment and Development
- Four centres in Asia: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Centre for Biodiversity, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Regional Office, the IUCN Regional Office for West Asia, and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia
- Three centres in Europe: Joint Research Centre, IUCN Mediterranean, and IUCN Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- One centre in Oceania: the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
A third scenario was also presented in the report, with five centres in Africa, five in Asia, four in Europe, four in the Americas, and one in Oceania. However, this one could result in a significant overlapping in coverage across regions, as the group noted.
“This third scenario would result in near complete coverage, with only two countries in the Americas, four in Asia, and seven countries in Europe not being covered … there would be significant overlaps in coverage by different centres, especially in Europe and Latin America.”
Besides the geographical consideration, the group recommended assessing other factors to determine the most suitable entities and organisations to host the support centres, as well as their total number.
The criteria spans the type of organisation, their flexibility to cover additional countries “beyond the official geographic scope of their work”, and their willingness to enter into partnerships with other entities.
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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