IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

• Biodiversity and ecosystem services such as food, clean water and medicine are essential for human survival
• Yet their present state is deteriorating dramatically: today, the rate of species extinction is at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years
• 75 percent of the land surface and 66 percent of the ocean area have been significantly altered; over 85% of the world’s wetlands have been lost
• These negative trends have been driven by numerous factors such as changes in land use, pollution and climate change
• Indirect drivers, for example social and political factors, are a good starting point for measures at all levels of society
• The Platform’s next work programme up to 2030 was also adopted at the plenary session

The first thematic assessment report, which focusses on pollinators, pollination and food production, was drawn up in 2016.

The key findings:

• Production of many high-quality food crops, primarily fruit and vegetables, depends on pollination
• For some years now, many regions around the world have been experiencing a drastic decline in pollinators
• The dramatic loss of bee colonies occurs differently in Europe, North America and other world regions
• Intensive agricultural production and, in particular, the use of pesticides pose major threats to pollinators and pollination
• Another thematic report on land degradation¹ and restoration was concluded in 2018; its key messages are: the steady expansion and unsustainable management of cropland and grazing land is the largest direct cause of land degradation globally, resulting in a significant loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Land degradation has reached critical levels in many parts of the world; wetlands, for example bogs, are particularly severely affected
• Increasing demand for food and biofuels will likely lead to increasing land degradation in the future
• Preventing, reducing and reversing land degradation could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than a third by 2030

¹ Land degradation: loss or decline of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems (e.g. in tropical rain forests, deserts and tundras) and their associated aquatic ecosystem (e.g. lakes and rivers)

The IPBES plenary is the Platform’s governing body. It convenes every one to two years and takes fundamental and strategic decisions. Ministry representatives from the member states and accredited participating organisations take part in the sessions.

The 8th plenary session (IPBES-8) took place in June 2021. The conference was originally scheduled to be held in Morocco at the beginning of 2021. It had to be postponed and organised as virtual conference with a scaled-down agenda due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Core decisions of IPBES-8 were:

• Adoption of two scoping reports for future assessments under the 2030 IPBES work programme ("nexus" and "transformative change")
• Invitation for increased cooperation between IPBES and IPCC
• Adoption of the transitional work programmes for the IPBES task forces
• Approval of the IPBES budget for 2021 and 2022.

The 7th plenary session (IPBES-7) took place at the invitation of France at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in May 2019, with 800 participants. The plenary’s core decisions were:

• Approval of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The report comprises the globally accepted current state of scientific knowledge and highlights the desolate state of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It underlines how urgent it is that we tackle the main drivers of environmental destruction and biodiversity loss at all levels of society.
• The following reports will be drawn up for the IPBES work programme up to 2030: transformative change, interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (“nexus assessment”), and biodiversity and business.
• Financing of IPBES activities was secured for 2019 and 2020.
• Ana Maria Hernandez from Colombia was elected IPBES Chair.

The 6th plenary session (IPBES-6) was attended by 750 representatives from IPBES member state governments, research institutes, NGOs and other stakeholders. Core decisions of the 6th IPBES plenary session (IPBES-6) included:

• Approval of four regional reports on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe and Central Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Asia and the Pacific
• Adoption of the thematic report on land degradation and restoration
• Commissioning of two new assessment reports on the sustainable use of wild species and the importance of biodiversity
• Specification of the procedure for the development of the new IPBES work programme and the strategic framework up to 2030

The 5th plenary session (IPBES-5) at the World Conference Center in Bonn took the following decisions:

• The EU is granted enhanced participation in its capacity as observer (this does not affect the memberships of individual EU member states)
• Development of criteria for an internal and external review of the IPBES

Core decisions at the 4th plenary session (IPBES-4) included:

• Approval of the first two IPBES reports:

1. assessment report on pollinators, pollination and food production and
2. methodological assessment report on scenarios and models of biodiversity and ecosystem services

• Launch of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services in addition to rolling regional reports
• Unanimous election of Prof. Robert T. Watson of the United Kingdom as IPBES Chair for a period of three years

In January 2015, at the 3rd plenary session (IPBES-3) held at IPBES headquarters in Bonn, the following core decisions for the ongoing implementation of the ambitious work programme adopted at the previous plenary session were taken:

• Approval of scoping reports for the four regional and subregional reports (Europe and Central Asia, Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific) on biodiversity and ecosystem services and a general guide on how to develop these reports
• Adoption of the scoping report for the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration
• Decision on the development of scoping reports for the three reports on invasive alien species, for the assessment of the sustainable use of biodiversity and the global report on biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Clarification of procedural questions regarding the approval of IPBES reports and decision for transparent rules in case of conflicts of interest
• Decision on a stakeholder engagement strategy with the aim of mobilising and engaging a wide and diverse range of stakeholders and knowledge holders in IPBES. This has enabled NGOs, researchers and research institutes to officially take part in the work of IPBES.
• Adoption of a communications strategy

At the 2nd IPBES plenary session in December 2013 in Antalya, Turkey, decisive steps were taken to map out the future course of IPBES:

• Decision on a comprehensive and ambitious work programme for the period 2014 to 2018
• Adoption of a conceptual framework and a budget for the implementation of the work programme during its first two years and establishment of a trust fund
• Appointment of Dr Anne Larigauderie of France as first Executive Secretary of the IPBES secretariat by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The first official plenary session (IPBES-1) in 2013 at the IPBES secretariat headquarters in Bonn took the following decisions:

• Adoption of rules for the future work of IPBES, establishment of the organisational structure and appointment of posts to the different IPBES bodies
• Election of members to IPBES’ executive bodies: the Bureau (administration) and the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP). The MEP is comprised of leading scientists from around the world, which are elected for a period of two years. It consists of equal numbers of representatives from the five UN regions. Prof. Abdul Hamid Zakri of Malaysia, with his broad experience gained in international leadership positions, was appointed IPBES Chair.
• Decision that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will provide the IPBES secretariat