Thematic Trust Fund - Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net) phase II

Putting a halt to nature’s rapid decline requires urgent, collaborative solutions and actions. Through BES-Net, UNDP, UNEP-WCMC and UNESCO promote networking and cooperation among policymakers, scientists and practitioners to jointly design and implement solutions for effective management of biodiversity and ecosystem services and long-term sustainable development. During its second phase, the project supports policymaking and transformative on-the-ground actions in a total of 18 countries through targeted seed funds. Building on the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy-Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), BES-Net II also extends its capacity-building support in four further countries to undertake National Ecosystem Assessments and facilitates science-policy-practice triangular dialogues to help identify cutting-edge nature-based solutions in 40 countries. With a growing online platform BES-Net’s online channels disseminate news, events, jobs and research.

Project data

Countries: Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana, Viet Nam, Ivory Coast, Namibia
IKI funding: 20,000,000.00 €
Duration: 01/2020 till 12/2028
Status: open
Implementing organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Political Partner: Alexander von Humboldt Institute on Research for Biological Resources - Colombia

Ethiopia Biodiversity Institute (EBI)

Federal Ministry of Environment - Nigeria

Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) - Viet Nam

Ministry of Ecology and natural resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry (MECCF) - Kenya

Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism - Botswana

Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) - Cameroon

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources - Dominican Republic

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - Côte d’Ivoire

Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment - Malawi

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) - Viet Nam

Ministry of Planning and Development - Trinidad and Tobago

Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning - ONEP - Thailand
Online: https://www.besnet.world/

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State of implementation/results

Upon commencement of the BES-Net II project, a renewed consortium was formally established among UNDP, UNEP-WCMC and UNESCO.
With the catalytic BES Solution Fund support, a total of eight countries are committed to leading the policy-science-practice coordinated uptake of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessments and/or national ecosystem assessments (NEAs).
UNEP-WCMC coordinates administrative and capacity-building support, with physical sessions, webinars and written resources among other tools, to guide the production of NEAs in four countries: Botswana, the Dominican Republic, Malawi and Thailand are at the expert evaluation stage where authors are spearheading the Zero Order Draft development based on literature review and supplementary in-field data collection. Annual global workshops serve as a forum for the countries undertaking NEAs to network, exchange lessons and obtain training from thematic experts.
UNESCO provides advisory and technical support to enhance the mobilization and weaving of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in NEAs and promotes the engagement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) across BES-Net's activities. Support is delivered by producing practical guides, organizing ILK training sessions and facilitating dialogues with IPLCs on the ground, and guiding participatory ground research. Dedicated expert authors are on board in the respective NEA countries to consolidate and incorporate ILK content in the assessments.
The BES-Net web portal serves as a one-stop-shop for global biodiversity information, publishing the latest news about BES-Net and its 131 partners, disseminating global information on vacancies and upcoming events, and offering an online library that hosts over 4,400 knowledge resources (www.besnet.world).

Latest Update:
12/2024