From 27-28 February 2019, in Kathmandu, Nepal, a subregional science-policy dialogue for South Asia and West Asia on the IPBES Asia-Pacific Regional Assessment was held in Park Village Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal, as a part of the “Capacity Building Project for the Implementation of IPBES Asia-Pacific Regional Assessment” funded by the Japan Biodiversity Fund through the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and operated by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), in collaboration with the IPBES technical support unit for the Asia-Pacific Regional Assessment (IPBES-TSU-AP).The dialogue was supported by the leadership of the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE), Nepal with the assistance of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC).

The two-day dialogue was participated by government delegates, academics, scientists and experts from the sub-regions of South Asia and West Asia to discuss the Asia-Pacific regional assessment and its key messages and to demonstrate that biodiversity is among the planet’s most essential resources. The dialogue highlighted the rich biodiversity and ecosystem services that the subregions provide as a vital support system for human wellbeing, and the function of IPBES to support policy formulation and implementation by identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies. IPBES aims to enable decision-makers to gain access to available tools, methodologies and policy options identified in the Asia-Pacific Assessment Report and presented through the Summary for Policymakers (SPM).