NBP Roles and Responsibilities – Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

Ethiopian National Biodiversity Platform roles and responsibilities

The Plenary

The Plenary (Generals Assembly) shall consist of member of the Platform who represent decision/policy makers, the scientific community, operators, and other stakeholders; shall meet once per year unless it becomes important to hold an extraordinary general meeting; passes decisions on platform-related issues, validates, and endorses assessments and reports that pertain to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Moreover, the Plenary designs scheme for facilitated communication of information between scientists and policy makers and promotes collaborative engagements among all actors. The Plenary shall be chaired by the head of the ministry to which the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI) is accountable to (i.e., the Minister of Ministry of Agriculture as per the current institutional setup) while the chair of the relevant standing committee of the parliament shall serve as deputy chair of the Platform, and EBI’s Director General as secretary.

The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will consist of Nine (9) members elected by the Plenary except for the Director General of EBI and the IPBES focal point who shall serve as a chair and secretary of the committee, respectively, and shall remain permanent members; shall meet quarterly; shall take care of all administrative issues of the Platform.

Sub-committees

The Subcommittees will principally include the multidisciplinary team of experts, capacity building & resource mobilization team, and local knowledge promotion & integration team; responsible for coordinating and overseeing issues, among others, the assessment of the state of the country’s biodiversity and ecosystem services, the reciprocal exchange of information between policy makers and scientists, the enhancement of capacity to undertake research and making practical interventions, the integration of knowledge systems towards the conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable utilization, and the provision of advice to the executive committee and the Platform

Task forces

Task Forces will be established under the different subcommittees as appropriate; shall execute tasks assigned by the corresponding subcommittees.

IPBES Focal Point

The IPBES Focal Point shall serve as secretary to the executive committee of the platform; shall be responsible for coordinating meetings of the executive committee and the platform, and also for the necessary reporting.

The National Biodiversity Platform (NBP-Ethiopia) is expected to play a significant role in encouraging knowledge exchange on biodiversity and ecosystem services between diverse stakeholders in Ethiopia. The EBP will play a critical role in protecting and managing the country’s biodiversity and ecosystem services which support the livelihood of its people, and it will help to ensure these benefits from nature are properly captured and communicated, supporting policymakers to make informed decisions about how to best safeguard ecosystems from depletion and sustainably utilized.