The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) would like to draw attention to a call from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to take part in the review of the four regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services (for Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia) and the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration.

Experts wishing to participate will first need to register as users of the IPBES websiteif they have not already done so. They can then apply to become an IPBES external reviewer for individual chapters per assessment here. All relevant comments will be addressed by the assessment authors in the next round of revisions.

The period for external review will run from 1 May until 26 June 2017 for the land degradation and restoration, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia assessments; and from 29 May until 24 July 2017 for the Americas assessment.

Considering the potential relevance of these IPBES deliverables for the work of the Convention, the Secretariat would like to encourage CMS Parties, partner organizations and experts to contribute to and facilitate the review, with special attention to issues of CMS interest.