At the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP25) at Glasgow in 2021, the climate-biodiversity nexus has been emphasised, highlighting the important role of conserving biodiversity to solve the climate crisis and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Glasgow Climate Pact highlights that conserving and restoring nature delivers benefits for climate change and mitigation.

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Ipieca’s work on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) is underpinned by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which acts as an international framework of reference for biodiversity issues.

Ipieca has official observer status and attended the first ever UN Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994, representing Ipieca’s global membership in support of global biodiversity conservation. Ipieca continues to participate at CBD COP through the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) and Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI).

At the resumed CBD COP-15, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is expected to be launched, along with an internationally agreed long-term approach to mainstreaming biodiversity. Establishing an ambitious plan to galvanise urgent and transformative BES action, the framework will call for governments to set national plans and regulations, with increased expectations for input and commitments from the private sector. Ipieca will continue to provide a platform for the industry to share good practices and develop guidance to encourage active industry contribution to the conservation, restoration and improvement of biodiversity.

BES fundamentals

Ipieca, jointly with the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), works to responsibly integrate the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) across the life cycle of oil and gas and alternative energy operations and decision making.

Ipieca-IOGP’s Biodiversity and ecosystem services fundamentals: Guidance document for the oil and gas sector brings together information essential to informing BES strategy development and decision making at the corporate level and at the key stages of an asset life cycle for any type of operation or environmental context. The guide sets out a management framework comprised of six interrelated BES management practices.

BES management practices

  1. Build BES into governance and business processes
  2. Engage stakeholders and understand their expectations around BES
  3. Understand BES baselines
  4. Assess BES dependencies and potential impacts
  5. Mitigate and manage BES impacts and identify BES opportunities
  6. Select measure and report BES performance indicators

(source: /resources/awareness-briefing/biodiversity-and-ecosystem-services-fundamentals-a-summary/)

Accelerating actions through collaboration

Ipieca works closely with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) developing guidance, at external events and in the delivery of key BES issues across the oil and gas industry. This relationship has been formalized through the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organizations. Ipieca also signed an MoU with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2021 to enhance the collaboration between the two organisations on supporting and promoting the SDGs, NBS, BES management, and other thematic areas.

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