Key messages
-
Increased cooperation amongst MEAs, UNEP and science-policy panels and platforms is essential. This is imperative to pave the way for integrated approaches and strengthened decision-making to address environmental challenges at large.
-
Science is evolving rapidly, as evidenced by assessments and reports, and securing political visibility and coherence of messaging remains a challenge. Ensuring science-policy-society links are iterative and continue to evolve with changing socio-political, economic, and environmental changes.
-
It is critical that the timing and outreach of outcomes of the scientific work transmitted to policymakers are responsive to the needs of countries. The communication on scientific outcomes should be tailored to the different target groups to ensure effective uptake.
-
For national action to be effective, scientific information serving various processes need to be connected. Opportunities for better exchange of outcomes, implementation experiences, and impacts, are sometimes beyond the mandates of individual panels and MEAs. However, more coordination is needed on that front.
-
National political structures, election cycles, and political periods may affect the timing and political will to uptake of scientific knowledge and information.
-
The role of traditional knowledge and science is key to strengthening science policy interfaces at local and national levels.
