15 August 2016: The Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has announced the Co-Chairs of the ‘Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.’ The Assessment will be led by Sandra Díaz, National University of Córdoba and National Research Council of Argentina; Eduardo S. Brondízio, Indiana University, U.S.; and Josef Settele, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany.

The ‘Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,’ initiated during the fourth session of the IPBES Plenary (IPBES-4) in February 2016, is meant to “critically assess the state of knowledge on past, present and possible future trends in multi-scale interactions between people and nature, taking into consideration different world views and knowledge systems.” It aims to provide scientific evidence to inform national and international decision making by governments, civil society and the private sector with a particular emphasis on the role of nature and its benefits for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will also provide important inputs to the Fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which will assess the implementation of the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 including the 2020 Aichi Targets.

Robert Watson, Chair of IPBES, described the Assessment as, “the intellectual progeny of and scientific successor” to the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). Anne Larigauderie, IPBES Executive Secretary, explained that, “The Global Assessment will offer a much-needed update on the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services – which were last reviewed more than a decade ago.”

The terms of reference adopted at IPBES-4 state that the Assessment will address, among other issues: status of and trends in nature, nature’s benefits to people and indirect and direct drivers of change; contributions of nature and its benefits to the implementation of the SDGs; evidence available for assessing progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets; plausible futures for nature, nature’s benefits to people and their contribution to a good quality of life until 2050; pathways and policy intervention scenarios relating to nature, nature’s benefit to people and their contributions to a good quality of life and sustainable futures; and opportunities, challenges and options for decision makers.

The announcement of the Co-Chairs was made during the first meeting of authors on the Global Assessment, which is being held from 15-19 August 2016, in Bonn, Germany. A first draft of the Assessment report is expected to be available for review in mid-2017. The submission for final approval is expected in 2019. [IPBES Press Release] [UNEP Press Release] [IPBES Website] [IISD RS Coverage of IPBES-4]