Highlights and images for 10 December 2024

Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems – is deteriorating worldwide at rates unprecedented in human history. Scientific evidence, including from the first Global Assessment Report of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), draws a bleak picture; thousands of animal and plant species are at the brink of extinction and the biosphere is being altered to an unparalleled degree across all spatial scales. At the same time, biodiversity is fundamental for a healthy planet, and human well-being and prosperity. The biodiversity crisis and its aggregate impacts pose a challenge of existential magnitude for humanity.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Urgent action is required to reverse this destructive path and achieve the vision of living in harmony with nature. IPBES plays a key role in this regard through the publication of assessment reports that inform decision making and catalyze action. In particular, the 11th Session of the IPBES Plenary (IPBES 11) is expected to address two key assessment reports:

• the thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, and health (Nexus Assessment); and
• the thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, determinants of transformative change, and options for achieving the 2050 vision for biodiversity (Transformative Change Assessment).

Delegates and participants at IPBES 11 highlighted the relevance of the upcoming assessment reports for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the Transformative Change Assessment showing how system-wide change can occur, and the Nexus Assessment providing a vital tool for understanding linkages, identifying synergies, and breaking silos.

During the opening of IPBES 11, speakers reflected on the increasing value and impact of IPBES’ work and emphasized that together the Nexus and Transformative Change Assessments address “the most critical issues that the world needs to solve.”  They stressed that IPBES assessments have been instrumental for a whole-of-society approach in building a comprehensive knowledge base for the GBF.

Regional and stakeholder opening statements highlighted, among other things, the need to: address knowledge gaps, including at the regional level; foster collaboration with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); maintain policy-relevance and coherence with nationally relevant processes; and intensify efforts to fully include Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems in the assessment process.

Delegates offered introductory remarks on all items on the meeting’s agenda during the morning plenary session. They established two working groups for further substantive deliberations and a contact group to address financial and budgetary issues.

In the afternoon, Working Group 1 started its work on the Nexus Assessment. Co-Chair Douglas Beard (Western Europe and Others Group) outlined the group’s working method and schedule. Nexus Assessment Co-Chairs Pamela McElwee (US) and Paula Harrison (UK), shared insights into the report’s preparation and outlined the structure of the summary for policymakers (SPM).

In general remarks, delegates highlighted the SPM's strength and its unique methodology, and made suggestions for improvement, including referencing the role of nature in mental health, and elaborating on the impacts of natural disasters on biodiversity. Further discussions will be required on the framing of “sustainable and healthy diets”; how, and whether, to define One Health in the SPM; and on the topic of armed conflicts as intensifying indirect drivers for biodiversity loss.

The first day of IPBES 11 opened and closed with cultural performances. In the morning, local artists from Ongoma (Drum Café Namibia) shared Namibia’s diverse cultural heritage. In the afternoon, “Stories of the San” highlighted hunting as a tradition deeply woven into the fabric of the culture of the San people, and included a tribute to the sun.