SGP at COP 15, Montreal

The UN fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) will take place in Montreal, Canada, from 5–19 December 2022. The conference is expected to be the culmination of the negotiations towards the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and will bring together Heads of State/Government, Ministers, and delegates, alongside business leaders, activists, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and the media. COP15 will be critical to ensure an ambitious outcome that protects people and planet, especially those on the frontlines of the triple planetary crisis of nature loss, climate change and inequality.

SGP will be participating in multiple events at COP15 and will be highlighting the key role of local communities, civil society and Indigenous Peoples as key actors and solution providers to the post-2020 GBF. COP15 events will include outreach to key constituencies (civil society, youth, Indigenous peoples), advocating for increased support to vulnerable groups, including the fair and equitable implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

Featured publication on SGP's biodiversity portfolio: Biodiversity at the heart of sustainable development

 Side events

Note: all times are in local Montreal time

The Satoyama Initiative: A Decade of Working for Societies in Harmony with Nature

Partners : Satoyama Initiative, UNU IAS, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, IGES, Conservation International,
Venue: Room 516DE
Date: Weds 7 Dec, 1.15-2:30pm

This side event will present the results of the first ten years of the Satoyama Initiative, a global effort to realize “societies in harmony with nature” through landscape approaches, first proposed to the CBD at COP 10 by the United Nations University and the Government of Japan. Since 2010, the Satoyama Initiative has worked with the hundreds of member organizations of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) to promote the concept of “socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes” (SEPLS) around the world. In that time, many collaborative activities, resource mobilization mechanisms, joint research projects, and a wide variety of events and workshops have been organized, and the concept of landscape approaches has become much better accepted in the world at large. To celebrate the first decade of the Satoyama Initiative, this event will bring together eminent experts from around the IPSI community to discuss the successes of the Initiative to date and its plans and potential for the future.

GEF Indigenous Peoples Advisory Group: Conversation with the GEF CEO

Partners: GEF IPAG members, GEF Secretariat
Venue: GEF Pavilion
Date: Tues 13 Dec, 4-5:30pm

The GEF’s Indigenous Peoples’ Advisory Group (IPAG) is a key advisory body for the GEF and has provided guidance and support to the GEF Secretariat and Council for a decade. Through its role in the implementation of the SGP as a corporate programme of the GEF, UNDP is one of two GEF agencies represented in the IPAG. The IPAG has strong ties with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), which represents a key constituency of both the CBD negotiations and the GEF.
The event will mark 10 years since the creation of the IPAG, and explore how GEF projects and programmes can further promote land tenure and secure rights. Programmes to be highlighted will include the GEF Small Grants Programme, including its Indigenous Peoples Fellowship programme, Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI) approved under GEF-7 with IUCN and Conservation International, and other international partnerships.

From the Aichi Targets to the post-2020 GBF: expanding global partnerships to recognize the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ territories and areas (ICCAs) for biodiversity conservation and human well-being

Partners: BMUV IKI (Govt of Germany), UNDP, ICCA Consortium, UNEP WCMC
Venue: side event #4793, Room 512F
Date: Weds 14 Dec, 1:15-2:30pm

The COP15 side event during the high-level segment will review eight years of implementation of the Global ICCA Support Initiative (27M EUR) funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and delivered through the UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme, recognizing the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) in contributing to the CBD Aichi targets and post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Global ICCA Support Initiative (GSI) was launched at CBD COP12 in 2014 to expand the range, quality and diversity of governance types of protected and conserved areas, whilst also enhancing human well-being. In 2020, the ICCA-GSI was extended to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities to cope with and recover from the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 45 countries across all regions.
The side event will review examples of multi-actor partnerships established between civil society networks, state parties and UN agencies, in support to ICCAs at national and regional levels, together with integrated reporting frameworks for protected and conserved areas at the international level. The side event will launch a new publication of consolidated results achieved under the Global ICCA Support Initiative during its first two phases of implementation from 2014-2022.

The event will also announce the next phase of the BMUV-UNDP partnership (22M EUR) of the ICCA GSI 30x30 in line with the post-2020 GBF Target 3 (protected and conserved areas), and Target 21 (decision-making, including IPs and LCs).

30th Anniversary of the GEF Small Grants Programme: Local Action Global Impact

Partners: UNDP, GEF, SGP, Governments, IPAG, IWBN
Venue: GEF Pavilion, Room 220b
Date: Weds 14 Dec, 6-7:30pm

For the past thirty years, the Small Grants Programme has been providing financial and technical support to civil society and community-based organizations on innovative community-driven initiatives that address global environmental issues. This event will highlight the important role of local communities, civil society and Indigenous Peoples, and youth as key agents of change to address global challenges including climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

The event will celebrate SGP’s leading role and engagement with non-state actors, aligned with the COP14 ‘Sharm El Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People’ (or Action Agenda). Panelists will examine the potential for enhanced scaling and accelerated adoption of SGP-supported actions as part of the GEF-8 replenishment, expanded UNDP’s efforts to scale up local action, and related international efforts to support biodiversity and ecosystems. Speakers will reflect on the importance of working with civil society as part of the implementation mechanisms for the multilateral agreements to preserve the planet with an emphasis on local action, landscape-level partnerships, and coalitions of non-state actors in support of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Launch of phase 2 of JBF and Japan’s contributions for the implementation of the post-2020 GBF

Partners: Ministry of Environment Japan, CBD Sec, UNDP
Venue: Room 512F
Date: Thurs 15 Dec, 6.15-7.30pm

In 2010, the Government of Japan established the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) as the COP10 Presidency. The Fund has facilitated, funded, and supported a wide array of activities, including technical support for the development, revision, and implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Plans (NBSAPs).

In 2021, at the high-level segment of the first part of COP15, Japan pledged to continue its global support as a second phase of the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF2). JBF2 aims to contribute to the implementation of the post-2020 GBF, filling the gap between the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the GBF. The side event will share the objectives and planned activities of the JBF2. It also intends to foster momentum for the implementation of the GBF with key partners of the JBF2, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UNDP.

COMDEKS Phase 4: Contribution of the Satoyama Initiative to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Partners: UNDP, Ministry of Environment Japan (MOEJ), CBD Sec, Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund
Venue: side Event #4783, Room 514A
Date: Fri 16 Dec, 1.15-2:30pm

The COP15 side event will launch the fourth phase of the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) implemented by the UNDP through the GEF Small Grants Programme, with funding from the Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ), the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF), and co-financing from the Global Environment Facility.

The side event will highlight the enduring relevance of the Satoyama Initiative to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and the contribution of the initiative to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Development Goals. The Satoyama Initiative is a global effort to advance the concept of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) for nature and human well-being.

The side event will focus on the roles of local actions and partnerships in landscape and seascape approaches to ecosystem restoration, including a number of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), for the promotion of sustainable development in a socially inclusive and effective manner. Speakers will include representatives from MoEJ, KNCF (private sector), CBD Secretariat, UNDP, GEF, national governments and local stakeholders.