IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN Programme on IPBES

After years of international negotiations, in April 2012 more than 90 governments agreed to officially establish the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It will be a leading global body providing scientifically sound and relevant information to support more informed decisions on how biodiversity and ecosystem services are conserved and used around the world.

IUCN has contributed to the negotiation process for the establishment of IPBES since 2008. Its extensive experience with science, knowledge and policy tools, as well as its nature as a multi-stakeholder union, put IUCN at the heart of the civil society involvement in IPBES.

Latest News

Bilimbi, a wild fruit on a farm tree. Though the fruit is very acid it makes a very good beverage.

Even farm biodiversity is declining as accelerating species loss threatens humanity

The accelerating disappearance of Earth’s species of both wild and domesticated plants and animals constitutes a fundamental threat to the well-being and even the survival of humankind, warns the founding Chair of IPBES, a new global organization created to narrow the gulf between leading international biodiversity scientists and national policy-makers. …

31 May 2013 | News story

Cheetahs in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

From words to action – key organizations team up to stop the extinction crisis

With unprecedented species declines and more than 20,000 of the species assessed on The IUCN Red List threatened with extinction, IUCN and other organizations come together to support the achievement of a global biodiversity target to prevent further species loss. … | Dutch

28 May 2013 | International news release

Coming soon: Guidelines to engage contributors and users in IPBES

Engaging the most relevant experts in the IPBES work is one of the greatest challenges that this new platform is facing. Following the invitation from the IPBES State Members, IUCN and the International Council for Science (ICSU) are proposing a strategy to ensure appropriate stakeholder involvement in line with the IPBES purposes and principles. …

21 May 2013 | News story

Groundwater dependant ecosystems support livelihoods in Vietnam

New study shows importance of IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems

A new global standard in assessing environmental risk, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, has been trialled on 20 ecosystems spanning six continents and three oceans. … | Spanish

08 May 2013 | International news release

Bridging science and policy with the BiodivERsA network

Successful conservation requires sound priority setting and decision-making based on the best available science. Science-policy interfaces are social processes, which encompass relations between scientists and other actors in the policy process, and which allow for exchanges, co-evolution, and joint construction of knowledge with the aim of enriching decision-making at different scales. …

15 Apr 2013 | News story
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Beyond nature assessments for better decisions

Dr Thomas Brooks, Head of IUCN Science and Knowledge Unit shares his expectations for IPBES and explains the way he sees IUCN as a Union contributing to this new global nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. …

03 Apr 2013 | Video

IPBES is calling, how will stakeholders answer?

IUCN and the International Council for Science (ICSU) have launched a survey to collect views on stakeholder engagement in IPBES, the top new nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. All stakeholders, including the private sector, indigenous peoples, local, scientific and conservation communities, are invited to contribute to the development of the first draft of their engagement strategy. …

19 Mar 2013 | News story

Big steps for IPBES

The final report of the first IPBES Plenary meeting (IPBES-1), held from 21 to 26 January 2013 in Bonn, Germany, is now available. This new international science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystems has put in place many of the administrative and staffing structures needed to implement its important work. The platform aims to assist governments and citizens to better understand the state, trends and challenges facing the natural world and humanity in the 21st century. …

15 Feb 2013 | Article

Achieving fruitful results on the ground

Tamar Pataridze, a newly elected member of the IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP) and IUCN Regional Councillor for Eastern Europe, North and Central Asia reveals her expectations for IPBES and explains the way she sees IUCN as a Union contributing to this new global nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. …

30 Jan 2013 | Video

Compiling the best knowledge for IPBES

At the peak of the first plenary meeting, Marina von Weissenberg, IUCN Vice President and Regional Councillor for West Europe shares her dream of IPBES and the way she sees IUCN as a Union contributing to this new global nature platform on biodiversity and its benefits. …

26 Jan 2013 | Video