1. Organization of the Meeting
Friday
Plenary to discuss goals of the day
Four breakout groups: (a) governance structure of the consultative process, and (b) governance issues associated with the proposed assessment
12.00–13.30: Lunch
13.30–14.45: Discussion of regional meetings and video-conferences (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America)
14.00 – 14.30: Press briefing (?)
14.30–14.45: Tea
: Reports from break-out groups and discussion, including next steps

2. Friday Discussion Design the consultative process
Composition of steering committee – selection criteria
Stakeholder representation – selection criteria
Terms of reference of steering committee
Overall design of the consultative process
Specific suggestions of who should be involved in each of the regional meetings and video-conferences – balance is needed among and within the stakeholder groups (key issue is inclusion of input from local farmers, pastoralists, fisherpersons)
Governance/organizational structure of assessment
Inter-governmental/non-governmental, scope, authors, peer-review, approval – does the issues paper identify the key issues

3. Suggested Composition of Steering Committee
Co-chairs (5)
Governments (12) – US, Europe/Scandanavia (3), EIT (1), Pacific (1); Asia (2), Africa (2), Latin America (2)
Private sector entities (4)
Foundations (2)
Non-governmental organizations (4)
Consumer and farmer organizations (4)
At-large scientists (2)
Scientific institutions (4) – CGIAR, TWAS, ICSU and IAC
International agencies (4) – IFAD, UNDP, WHO and UNEP
UN conventions (2) – CBD and UNFCCC
Balanced representation from Developed and Developing countries
Balanced representation within each stakeholder group

4. Steering Committee TOR
Oversight of the consultation process
A representative set of members shall be involved in each regional consultation - chaired by the co-chair from the region
Members shall elicit feedback on the proposed assessment process from their own stakeholder group
Responsible for final recommendation on advisability of international assessment
If recommendation to proceed, then steering committee will determine
Governance (i.e., intergovernmental or non-governmental);
Management, including the location of the secretariat;
Principles and procedures;
Scope of the assessment, including key questions;
Timeframe of assessment;
Funding strategy.

5. Proposed Consultative Process
Web-site:
Regional consultations (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America) – number dependent on funding availability – funding sources fully disclosed
Videoconferences

6. Suggested Consultative Process Timetable
November
Dublin meeting
December – March
Regional meetings
Videoconferences
Web- based consultations
April/May
Steering committee develops an initial recommendation
Initial recommendation placed on web-site for comment
May - June
Steering committee develops the final recommendation

7. Key Aspects of an international assessment
Governance structure for the assessment (intergovernmental (e.g., IPCC) or non-governmental (e.g., MA)
Development and approval of principles and procedures
Define and approve scope of assessment
Nomination and selection of chair(s) and authors
Design and implement peer-review system
Approval of the assessment report and its SPM

8. International Assessments
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
inter-governmental – governments approve the scope after input from scientists, NGOs and private sector
prepared by experts (all stakeholder groups) from around the world – nominations from all stakeholder groups – final selection by Bureau
expert and government peer-review of assessment and its SPM
Assessments accepted by governments, government approve the SPMs
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
non-governmental, closely tied to Environmental Conventions through Board of Directors and its Executive Committee
scope developed by experts, based on a set of “user-needs” documents from the Conventions and private sector -- approved by multi-stakeholder Board of Directors
prepared by experts - nominations from all stakeholder groups – final selection by Board of Directors
expert and government review
Assessment and the SPMs approved by the Board of Directors