Building Biodiversity: A Youth Dialogue with IRP Co-Chairs

Thursday 24 June, 5:30pm-6:30pm CET, REGISTER HERE, or follow the Facebook event

This webinar organized jointly by Youth & Environment Europe and the IRP will initiate a dialogue around biodiversity issues between young people and both IRP Co-Chairs, Izabella Teixeira (former Minister of Environment, Brazil) and Janez Potocnik (former European Commissioner for Environment and Science).

This event will also aim to introduce the recent opinion piece on Building Biodiversity drafted by the IRP Co-Chairs. This document features four guiding principles to turn biodiversity loss into biodiversity value through natural resource management. A selection of case studies also illustrates how these principles have been successfully implemented around the world.

As policymakers prepare for the CBD COP 15 (Kunming, 11-24 October 2021), these science-based principles can help them move beyond pledges and commitments, and take action that we can soon see working in the natural world. Sharing lessons from their past and present roles, and based on powerful scientific evidence from the IRP, the Co-Chairs urge Parties to push for a bold global agreement on biodiversity targets. Countries must use natural resource management approaches to acknowledge, understand and address the direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss for climate, nature and socially just economic and social development.

Speakers

• Merlyn Van Voore, Head of Secretariat, International Resource Panel (IRP), UN Environment Programme

• Izabella Teixeira, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel, former Minister of Environment, Brazil

• Janez Potočnik, Co-chair of the International Resource Panel, Partner at SYSTEMIQ and former European Commissioner for Environment and Science

• Jessica Micklem, Coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network in Europe and Central Asia

• Speakers from other Youth networks still TBC

Moderated by Cathal Swan and Karolina Fabianova, Youth and Environment Europe