Call for nominations for fellows for the methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity Notifica IPBES EM/2024/46 The IPBES Plenary, in decision IPBES/10/1, approved the undertaking of the methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity (“spatial planning assessment”). The spatial planning assessment will address the use and change in use of land, inland waters and sea, including areas beyond national jurisdiction. It will provide options for avoiding land and sea use change that negatively affects biodiversity and options for improving planning for effective conservation, restoration and sustainable use of nature and its contributions to people across spatial and temporal scales. In accordance with decision IPBES-10/1 and the procedures for the preparation of IPBES deliverables, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel herewith invites Governments and other relevant stakeholders to nominate fellows to participate in the spatial planning assessment. Further to the call for nominations of experts for the spatial planning assessment (EM/2024/45), Governments and other relevant stakeholders are herewith invited to nominate candidates to participate in the IPBES fellowship programme for the monitoring assessment. The IPBES fellowship programme, which is part of a larger capacity-building portfolio of activities, targets early-career individuals who wish to gain experience by participating in the work of IPBES. Selected fellows will participate in the preparation of the chapter of the assessment for which they are selected, and their contribution acknowledged as part of the citation for that chapter. Fellows will attend author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes and the science-policy interface. Fellows will also be paired up with a mentor for the assessment period. The assessment will be conducted in line with the procedures for IPBES deliverables set out in decision IPBES-3/3, annex I (available here ) and based on the scoping report for the assessment (available here ). https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/attivita/biodiversita/attivita-internazionali/ipbes-1/call-for-nominations-for-fellows-for-the-methodological-assessment-of-integrated-biodiversity-inclusive-spatial-planning-and-ecological-connectivity https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/logo.png

Call for nominations for fellows for the methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity

Notifica IPBES EM/2024/46

The IPBES Plenary, in decision IPBES/10/1, approved the undertaking of the methodological assessment of integrated biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and ecological connectivity (“spatial planning assessment”).

The spatial planning assessment will address the use and change in use of land, inland waters and sea, including areas beyond national jurisdiction. It will provide options for avoiding land and sea use change that negatively affects biodiversity and options for improving planning for effective conservation, restoration and sustainable use of nature and its contributions to people across spatial and temporal scales.

In accordance with decision IPBES-10/1 and the procedures for the preparation of IPBES deliverables, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel herewith invites Governments and other relevant stakeholders to nominate fellows to participate in the spatial planning assessment.

Further to the call for nominations of experts for the spatial planning assessment (EM/2024/45), Governments and other relevant stakeholders are herewith invited to nominate candidates to participate in the IPBES fellowship programme for the monitoring assessment.

The IPBES fellowship programme, which is part of a larger capacity-building portfolio of activities, targets early-career individuals who wish to gain experience by participating in the work of IPBES. Selected fellows will participate in the preparation of the chapter of the assessment for which they are selected, and their contribution acknowledged as part of the citation for that chapter. Fellows will attend author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes and the science-policy interface. Fellows will also be paired up with a mentor for the assessment period.

The assessment will be conducted in line with the procedures for IPBES deliverables set out in decision IPBES-3/3, annex I (available here) and based on the scoping report for the assessment (available here).

IPBES is seeking fellows from academia, government, and civil society with expertise in:

A range of disciplines, including but not limited to geography, ecology, conservation science (including protected area designation), land and water systems science, spatial planning, urban planning, architecture, law, political science and economics;
The application of spatial planning methodologies and related planning and management approaches in relation to biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people, in terrestrial (including inland waters) and marine systems, including land and sea planning, environmental impact assessment, economic and social zoning, community planning, land and sea use frameworks, and governance frameworks for integrated planning and management;
The pertinence, effectiveness and limitations of existing methods, guidance, tools, scenarios, models, data, knowledge and capacity building for promoting connectivity and integrating biodiversity in spatial planning, across sectors and scales;
The trade-offs and synergies between different types of spatial planning methodologies and of land, inland waters and sea use;
Methodologies for promoting participatory approaches to spatial planning (including those involving Indigenous Peoples and local communities);
The ecological requirements of migratory and wide-ranging species, complex species communities and diverse ecosystem processes;
Ecological restoration to recover and enhance biodiversity and ecological connectivity to support ecosystem resilience, climate change adaptation and sustainable livelihoods and associated methodologies and approaches;
The development or application of scenarios of spatial planning regarding synergies and trade-offs in the biodiversity-food-water-health-climate-energy nexus;
Capacity, financial and technological implementation needs for spatial planning and ecological connectivity interventions. Governments and relevant stakeholders are invited to ensure gender balance in their nominations.

All nominated fellows (Nominees) need to be available to attend the relevant author meetings, training workshops and induction day for fellows, with the induction day and the first author meeting tentatively scheduled for August 2025.

All Governments and relevant organizations or institutions are encouraged to submit nominations. Nominating organizations or institutions are not required to have been admitted to the Plenary of IPBES as an observer. Please help us to disseminate this call for nominations of fellows widely.

Please follow the below procedure for nomination:

Nominees are invited to complete the application form and attach their curriculum vitae through the dedicated web portal at https://www.ipbes.net/spatial-planning-assessment/fellows-application (to access this page you will need to login with your IPBES website log in credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES website will need to do so at https://ipbes.net/user/register ). Please note that the nomination form is in English only and applications should be submitted in English, as the assessment process will be conducted in English;

The nominating government or organization (Nominator) indicated by the Nominee will receive an email with a link to the nomination form and will be invited to approve and submit the nominations in the web portal;
Nominators and Nominees will receive confirmation via email once the nomination has been submitted.

Interested early-career individuals wishing to be nominated by a Government are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point (https://www.ipbes.net/national-focal-points ) regarding any country specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by 10 January 2025. Interested experts are highly encouraged to review the information document summarizing IPBES assessment conditions and roles prior to submitting their application (available here).

Early-career individuals that are selected as a fellow within an IPBES assessment accept the relevant conditions for the assessment, including that the time contributed to IPBES is committed on a pro-bono basis. Experts from developing countries will receive support to attend author meetings and possibly other relevant meetings. Experts from developed countries are to secure their own funding to participate in the meetings.

Nominators (Governments or organizations) should submit the nominations of all Nominees which they would like to support, before 24 January 2025. Early nominations ahead of this deadline are encouraged. Fellows will be selected by the management committee of the spatial planning assessment, which includes the co-chairs of the assessment and members of the IPBES Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.

More information on the IPBES fellowship programme, including selection criteria and available support to selected fellows, can be found on the IPBES webpage: https://ipbes.net/ipbes-fellowship-programme .

A dialogue meeting will be organized to facilitate and strengthen engagement by Governments and stakeholders in the nomination of experts and fellows. The meeting will provide information regarding the required relevant expertise of nominees and the nomination process, and will also provide an opportunity for current and previous IPBES experts and fellows to share their experiences of the nomination process and lessons learned. The dialogue meeting is tentatively scheduled for the first week of November 2024, more information will follow shortly.

Riferimenti del National Focal Point (NFP):

Lorenzo Ciccarese, NFP: lorenzo.ciccarese@isprambiente.it

Valeria Giovannelli, Deputy NFP: valeria.giovannelli@isprambiente.it

Silvia Giardina, Deputy NFP: giardina.silvia@mase.gov.it