UNEP Side-event on Developing International Payments for Ecosystem Services (IPES): A Discussion of the Financial/Institutional Options at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Bonn, 23 May 2008

The purpose of the side event was to present and discuss the still evolving IPES concept as well as to share the preliminary findings from UNEP-IUCN’s forthcoming IPES publication. It was emphasized that IPES not only intends to address the continued lack of incentives available for sustaining ecosystem services but it also aims to scale up “Payments for Ecosystem Services” to the international level. The discussions that were held attempted to unravel the issues surrounding the actual applicability of IPES and how it would eventually operate in practice as well as identify the political challenges of such a mechanism.

For more information on UNEP ETB's work on IPES, please visit: http://www.unep.ch/etb/areas/ipes.php

Contact: fulai.sheng@unep.ch