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

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body that strengthens the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Biodiversity underpins almost every aspect of human development, including food production, clean water, climate regulation, and even disease control. Yet the Earth’s biodiversity is being depleted and degraded faster than at any other point in human history. Established in 2012, IPBES works for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being, and sustainable development.

IPBES engages experts from all scientific disciplines and knowledge communities to provide policy-relevant information, catalyzing evidence-based policy implementation in governments, the private sector, and civil society. In 2019, IPBES approved the Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the first intergovernmental global assessment of this kind and the first comprehensive assessment since the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Events

Showing 1 - 10 of 19 results

12th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

“…The twisted reality is that it often seems more profitable to businesses to degrade biodiversity than to protect it… The Report shows that business as usual is not inevitable – with the right policies, as well as financial and cultural shifts, what is good for nature is also what is best for profitability.” Delegates adopted the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment and its Summary for Policymakers, which addresses the impact and dependence of business on biodiversity.
Event 2 February 2026 - 9 February 2026

11th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

The Plenary launched the Nexus Assessment on the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, and health, and the Transformative Change Assessment on underlying causes of biodiversity loss, determinants of transformative change, and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
Event 9 December 2024 - 16 December 2024

10th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

Delegates celebrated the launch of a new report on invasive alien species and their control. They also adopted terms of reference for the midterm review of the work programme, and approved the scoping process for a second global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and approved undertaking two fast-track methodological assessments.
Event 28 August 2023 - 2 September 2023

9th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

After a week of intense negotiations, delegates approved the summaries for policymakers and chapters of two new assessments: the sustainable use of wild species, and the methodological assessment of the diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, including biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services.
Event 2 July 2022 - 9 July 2022

8th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Days

The Plenary met virtually to approve scoping reports for two future assessments on the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health, and the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, as well as work plans for the intersessional period.
Event 3 June 2021 - 24 June 2021

7th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

Delegates approved of the summary for policy makers (SPM) and accepted the chapters of the Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the first intergovernmental global assessment of this kind that shares detailed findings on the relationship between nature and human wellbeing, the drivers of biodiversity decline, the consequences of this decline, and actions that can be taken to conserve nature while achieving other societal goals.
Event 28 April 2019 - 29 April 2019

6th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

Delegates celebrated the meeting as a major milestone in the history of IPBES, noting the approval of four regional assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services—plus a thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration—will enhance the Platform’s impact and assist policy makers around the word in developing actions to protect biodiversity and conserve or enhance nature’s contributions to people.
Event 17 March 2018 - 18 March 2018

5th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Day

Due to insufficient pledges to the IPBES Voluntary Trust Fund, delegates ultimately had to adopt a budget that does not allow for the initiation of any pending assessments to reduce the risk of incurring a budget shortfall in 2018, allowing for the Secretariat to proceed in “survival mode.” While some delegates expressed their frustration about the delay in initiating these assessments, others suggested the workload of ongoing assessments was already exceeding acceptable limits, saying the first IPBES work programme was overly ambitious.
Event 6 March 2017 - 10 March 2017

4th Session of the IPBES Plenary and Stakeholder Days

Delegates left Kuala Lumpur in a celebratory mood after having successfully accepted technical reports, approved two summaries for policy makers and thereby delivered the first IPBES products on time. Many were encouraged by the constructive atmosphere during the line-by-line negotiations of the texts, which some had expected to be far more arduous and politically charged. 
Event 20 February 2016 - 28 February 2016

3rd Session of the IPBES Plenary

Delegates addressed a number of issues under the platform, including on how to complete the work programme despite the limited resources available, and set a good foundation for IPBES-4, where the first output of substance will be reviewed.
Event 12 January 2015 - 17 January 2015