As a member of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), BiodivEarth took part in the 10th IPSI Conference held in Riobamba, Ecuador, two weeks ago. The event brought together global partners to exchange perspectives on how communities are sustaining Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS). It was a valuable opportunity to connect with practitioners, researchers, and local stewards, and to share ideas on strengthening resilience in biodiversity-rich landscapes and seascapes.
Key highlights from the week included:
- Learning from diverse SEPLS initiatives: We gained meaningful insights into how projects around the world are contributing to IPSI’s Strategy and Plan of Action 2023-2030. These exchanges provided practical lessons and approaches that can help inform and strengthen our own resilience efforts.
- Presenting our work: Through founder Paule Gros’s presentation and poster session, we showcased our project, “Building resilience in high biodiversity areas for nature and people.” This created space for IPSI members to explore the BiodivEarth Community of Practice, understand our resilience framework, and discover tools currently in development. The discussions that followed highlighted opportunities for applying these approaches in other contexts and opened the door to new collaborations.
- Strengthening global connections: Workshops and informal exchanges reinforced the importance of bridging local knowledge with global strategies to support both ecological and community resilience.
These interactions reaffirmed that collaboration is central to building resilience. By linking local experience with global perspectives, we can better support both people and nature. We leave Ecuador inspired: energized by its rich natural and cultural heritage and motivated to turn these insights into action together with IPSI partners worldwide.
