17 January 2015: The third session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-3) has approved a timetable for carrying out an assessment on land degradation and restoration. The assessment is part of a first set of three thematic assessments to be carried out by the Platform between 2015 and 2018. The final outcome will include an executive summary presenting key findings and policy-relevant conclusions, a summary for policymakers and an eight-chapter report.

The objective of the assessment is to provide the information and guidance necessary to support stakeholders working at all levels to reduce the negative environmental, social and economic consequences of land degradation, and rehabilitate and restore degraded land to aid the recovery of nature’s benefits to people. The assessment will draw on information from scientific, indigenous and local knowledge systems to increase awareness and identify areas of concern. It will further provide a framework for understanding, monitoring and taking action to halt and reverse land degradation in order to support decision-making at all levels and identify critical knowledge gaps and priority areas for new research and investment in order to enhance capacity in the sustainable management of land and biodiversity and their benefits to people.

During IPBES-3 discussions, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Secretariat highlighted the Convention’s contribution to the draft scoping report, saying that it will be “one of the key clients and users of this assessment,” and underscoring the need for effective collaboration to meet the needs of its stakeholders.

The revised document adopted at IPBES-3 describes the scope and objective of the assessment and the information, human and financial requirements required to achieve it. The scoping document also includes a chapter outline of the final assessment report. The proposed chapters include: Benefits to people from avoidance of land degradation and restoration of degraded land; Concepts and perceptions of land degradation and restoration; Direct and indirect drivers of land degradation and restoration; Status and trends of land degradation and restoration and associated changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functions; Land degradation and restoration associated with changes in ecosystem services and functions, and human well-being and good quality of life; Responses to avoid land degradation and restore degraded land; Scenarios of land degradation and restoration; and Decision support to address land degradation and support restoration of degraded land.

IPBES-3 was held from 12-17 January 2015 in Bonn, Germany. [IISD RS coverage of IPBES-3] [IPBES Website] [UNCCD Press Release]