At its third meeting, the COP adopted decision III/11, which established the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity, and called for priority attention to components of biological diversity responsible for the maintenance of ecosystem services for the sustainability of agriculture, including pollinators.

At its fifth meeting, considering the recommendations of the Sao Paulo Declaration on Pollinators and the SBSTTA 5 recommendation V/9 that address the issue of worldwide decline of pollinator diversity, the COP established an International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators (also called IPI) as a cross-cutting initiative within the programme of work on agricultural biodiversity (decision V/5, section II) to promote coordinated action worldwide to:

1. Monitor pollinator decline, its causes and its impact on pollination services
2. Address the lack of taxonomic information on pollinators
3. Assess the economic value of pollination and the economic impact of the decline of pollination services
4. Promote the conservation and the restoration and sustainable use of pollinator diversity in agriculture and related ecosystems

The COP requested the Executive Secretary to invite FAO to facilitate and coordinate the Initiative in close cooperation with other relevant organizations, who were invited to support actions in Parties and countries subject to pollinator decline. The Executive Secretary, SBSTTA and the financial mechanism were asked to support the development and implementation of the Initiative, and Parties and Governments were asked to collaborate and compile case-studies and pilot projects and to report to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, when the initiative will be reviewed (decision V/5, paragraphs 15,16,17,18).

At its sixth meeting, the COP adopted the plan of action for the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators (decision VI/5, annex II). The leading role played by FAO and the efforts to establish the African Pollinators Initiative in the framework of the International Pollinators Initiative were welcomed. Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations were invited to further contribute to the implementation of this International Pollinator Initiative.