23 June 2021
Successful and sustainable implementation is built on inspiring examples of good practice. This is the philosophy behind the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet initiative, which documents and promotes inspiring, successful, and replicable solutions for nature conservation and sustainable development. In a virtual CBD side event held on 23 June 2021, PANORAMA partners and supporters highlighted how the initiative can contribute to capacity development and knowledge management under the emerging post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
The event was held following the negotiations under the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI3).
The live webinar led by Trevor Sandwith, Director of the Global Protected and Conserved Areas Programme at IUCN brought together 79 participants from many countries. including Kenya, Vietnam, Canada and Colombia.
Erie Tamale of the CBD Secretariat opened the event, stating that “now is the time to get biodiversity conservation right. We need new solutions and collate the information from the ground. What PANORAMA has been doing in this regard is critical and needs to be scaled up”.
Elke Steinmetz of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) emphasized in her opening remarks the Ministry’s conviction that effective implementation is what matters most regarding the new GBF, and that PANORAMA’s uniqueness lies in making the links between local action and global policy. “We have supported PANORAMA since 2013, are happy to continue doing so, and encourage everyone to be a part of it. Committed partnerships are essential for the success of the Global Biodiversity Framework”, she stated.
Solution providers spoke about their successful approaches and why they chose to share them via PANORAMA: Julien Noël Rakotoarisoa from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Madagascar highlighted that the PANORAMA case study approach is very flexible, and a useful tool for “auto capacity-building", supporting practitioners in self-reflection on “what worked”.
“PANORAMA is a useful source when you have to come up with ideas for actual implementation, and transferring a solution from one context to another: it helps on multiple levels. We need to encourage people and donors to use PANORAMA as a source of inspiration for new projects, rather than mainly making it a 'sharing platform' “said Mr Fernando Gamacho from the National Commission of Protected Areas Management of Mexico.
Participants engaged in discussions about the importance of policies and partnership, such as PANORAMA, supporting capacity development among practitioners, solutions providers and seekers and encouraging peer to peer learning online, on the ground, but also contributing to global policies. They reflected on the merits of learning from success as opposed to learning from failure.
Helga Mahler from the PANORAMA Secretariat shared some of the latest figures, namely 637 solutions providers who have contributed 899 solutions on the web platform, which has more than 100,000 unique visitors per year.
Participants observed that it is very valuable to learn about platforms such as PANORAMA and suggested to allow more spaces to learn from challenges and failures among peers.
The live webinar took place following the release of an Information Document titled “PANORAMA – Unlocking solutions to support implementation of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework through capacity development and knowledge management “.
To learn more about PANORAMA visit the web platform or send an email to contact@panorama.solutions , follow @PANORAMA_Planet and engage using #PANORAMASolutions on Twitter.