IUBS is pleased to invite you to the joint virtual sessions of the 5th Science Policy Forum for Biodiversity and the 8th International Conference on Sustainability Science which will comprise five sessions to be held on 13, 15, 19, 21 and 23 April 2021. The registration to the joint event is now open (free registration): https://science4biodiversity.org/

13 April 2021: opening
SESSION 1 – Part 1: A framework for transition: towards the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)
BREAKOUT GROUP 1: Advancing solutions for transition
BREAKOUT GROUP 2: Enabling conditions for transitioning to zero net habitat loss (zero net deforestation, land degradation and land use change)

15 April 2021: SESSION 2
Round table on biodiversity monitoring and data

19 April 2021: SESSION 3
Harnessing science, technology and innovations to support the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework
BREAKOUT GROUP 1: Biodiversity, Climate and Livelihoods: Implications for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
BREAKOUT GROUP 2: The current landscape of renewable energy technologies and applications, and its impact on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

21 April 2021: SESSION 4
Links between loss of biodiversity, climate change and zoonotic diseases

24 April 2021: SESSION 5
Young Scholars and Professionals Session: Ecological Restoration – framing challenges and opportunities.
Closing

The event is financially supported by University of Tokyo and IUBS.
The virtual sessions are jointly organized by IUBS, the Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity, the University of Tokyo (Institute for Future Initiatives), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the UN Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the International Science Council, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, the University of Stockholm and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. The other contributors include the United Nations Development Programme, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Bonn (West African Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network, NatureServe, VertNet and the Young Ecosystem Service Specialists.

The joint sessions were initially planned to take place in October 2020, prior to the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the postponement, the co-organizers have decided to convene the above virtual sessions, ahead of the planned parallel events at COP 15, in order to maintain the momentum and to use the opportunity to provide science-based input to the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The conclusions and recommendations of the joint virtual sessions will be submitted, as appropriate, to the twenty-fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 24) and the third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (WG2020 3).