Global Science: the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body dedicated to assessing the state of the planet's biodiversity, ecosystems, and the essential services they provide to society. IPBES works to identify and prioritize key scientific information needed for policymakers; catalyze efforts to generate new knowledge by engaging in dialogue with scientific organizations, policymakers, and funding organizations; perform assessments of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services and their interlinkages; support policy formulation and implementation by identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies; and prioritize key capacity-building needs to improve the science-policy interface. IPBES provides scientists, economists, and other experts important opportunities to support science-based environmental decision-making at global to local scales. To date, IPBES has brought together representatives of 124 countries at three annual plenary meetings and numerous panel meetings about specific assessments. This presentation will summarize IPBES’ opportunities and achievements to date. These include a conceptual framework for IPBES processes and products, an assessment of the status of pollination and pollinators associated with food production, and scoping for assessments of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity and of invasive alien species and control. IPBES provides natural and social scientists and other experts with important opportunities to support collaborative, science-based environmental decision-making at global to local scales. Therefore, the poster will also describe opportunities to participate as expert panel members, contributors to assessments, and reviewers; the potential for IPBES to inform policy; and its mechanisms for doing so.