Brent Swallow participated in the recent High-Level Brainstorming Workshop ‘Creating Pro-Poor Markets for Ecosystem Services’ that took place from 10-12 October 2005, at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Senate House, in London, UK.

Jointly organized by the Division for Policy Development and Law and the Division of Environmental Conventions (UNEP/DEC) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in conjunction with LSE, the workshop was aimed at assessing the desirability and feasibility of the creation of pro-poor markets for ecosystem services (MES) within the framework of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and to identify the process and institutional mechanisms required to create such markets.

The workshop followed the UNEP High-Level Brainstorming Workshop for Multilateral Environment Agreements on Mainstreaming Environment beyond MDG-7, held from 13-14 July 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya, and the 2005 World Summit, held from 14-16 September 2005 in New York.

The workshop was attended by over 50 participants, representing governments, UN agencies, other international organizations, four MEAs, academia, civil society, and the business community.

Workshop Conclusions...