About CABES
CABES – Capacity Development for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Experts aims to develop and strengthen the capacity of professionals in biodiversity-related fields in West, Central, and East Africa to engage in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, www.ipbes.net). CABES is supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
The goals of the CABES programme include:
Goal one
to inform national decision-making processes amongst multiple stakeholder groups including researchers, practitioners from the public and private sectors, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) holders, women, and IPBES National Focal Points (NFPs) in target countries.
Goal two
to establish a network of science-policy platforms to contribute to the implementation of the IPBES rolling work programmes at national, sub-regional and regional level. Sub-regional refers to countries either in West, Central or East Africa, and the regional level represents the 38 countries.
Goal three
to train early career scientists, researchers and facilitators to manage science-policy interfaces (SPIs). Finally, CABES will develop capacities to support the implementation of political decisions for the management and sustainable use of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services/Nature’s Contributions to People (BES/NCPs).
Objectives of the CABES programme
The overall programme objective is to raise awareness of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, www.ipbes.net) amongst multiple stakeholder groups and undertake capacity development actions towards a better representation of West, Central, and East Africa stakeholders in IPBES activities, as well as improve the uptake of IPBES products, including its assessments into national policies to better conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystem services, in other words, nature’s contributions to people (BES/NCPs). This objective is closely related to the main outcome of the programme, which is to support national governments to engage in the IPBES rolling work programme and its implementation, in close collaboration with actors from science, policy, and practice, represented by IPBES national focal points, researchers, practitioners from the public and private sectors, non-governmental institutions (NGOs), women’s groups, indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) holders in its target region.
To achieve its objectives, CABES will:
- Enhance the awareness about IPBES and its multiple outputs to inform national decision-making processes on the conservation and sustainable use of BES/NCPs amongst various stakeholder groups,
- Establish a network of science-policy platforms to contribute to the implementation of IPBES work programme at national, sub-regional, and regional levels across West, Central, and East Africa,
- Train a gender-balanced group of early-career scientists, researchers and facilitators to manage SPIs and contribute to narrowing knowledge gaps reported in IPBES assessments and other IPBES activities, and
- Develop capacities of decision makers and other target groups to support the implementation of political decisions on nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based adaptation approaches and sustainable use of BES/NCPs.
