7 February 2019: The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has provided information on the key aspects covered by the first global assessment on biodiversity since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2015, as well as on the structure of the upcoming report.

Prepared by 150 international experts from 50 countries, the IPBES Global Assessment draws on nearly 15,000 references, including scientific papers and government information. The publication aims to inform better policies and actions in the coming decade. IPBES notes that the report is the first global assessment ever to systematically examine and include indigenous and local knowledge, issues, and priorities.

The report is the first global assessment ever to systematically examine and include indigenous and local knowledge.

The report will be discussed, finalized and considered for approval by representatives of 132 Governments at the seventh session of the IPBES Plenary, to take place from 29 April to 4 May 2019, in Paris, France. A detailed Summary for Policy Makers (SPM), highlighting key messages, findings and options, is scheduled for public launch at UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris on 6 May 2019.

According to the IPBES preview, the Global Assessment:

• Covers all land-based ecosystems except Antarctica, inland water and the open oceans;
• Evaluates changes over the past 50 years, along with implications for economies, livelihoods, food security and quality of life;
• Explores impacts of trade and other global processes on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• Ranks the relative impacts of climate change, invasive alien species, pollution, sea and land-use change, and a range of other challenges to nature;
• Identifies priority gaps in available knowledge that will need to be filled;
• Projects what biodiversity could look like in decades ahead under six future scenarios: Economic Optimism; Regional Competition; Global Sustainability; Business as Usual; Regional Sustainability; and Reformed Markets; and
• Assesses policy, technology, governance, behavior changes, options and pathways to reach global goals by analyzing synergies and trade-offs between food production, water security, energy and infrastructure expansion, climate change mitigation, nature conservation and economic development.

Started in 2016, the report will also provide an overview of where the world stands in relation to international goals and instruments such as the SDGs, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. [IPBES Preview]