IPBES survey launched
UNU-IHDP and UNU-ISP in collaboration with DIVERSITAS have been commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan to undertake a survey on the process of the new Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The survey is reaching out to natural and social scientists as well as relevant stakeholders to solicit their feedback in the nascent stages of the establishment of the platform. Their voice is important in shaping the guiding principles of making IPBES a fully functioning body that will make a difference on a global scale.Click here to participate in the survey.
What is IPBES?
The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will provide periodic updates on the status and trends of changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services and their impacts on human well-being across the planet.
Why is there a need for IPBES?
As the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) has demonstrated, policy makers will make more use of science if there is a platform enabling them to interact with scientists. However, there has been no global mechanism recognized by policy makers that analyzes and synthesizes the great variety of scientific publications and reports on biodiversity and ecosystem services conducted by scientists – and IPBES will do just that.
What will IPBES deliver?
IPBES plans to fill the gap by building a science-policy process and thereby providing policy makers with a platform for engaging in an on-going dialogue with the scientific community. Decision makers will have the best science available to them so they can weigh the consequences of alternative policy options and choose the best strategy.
How will the survey results be used?
The findings will be fed into the second inter-governmental meeting to be held in Panama City from 16 to 19 April, 2012. Governments will deliberate and decide on the modalities, work program and governance of IPBES at this meeting. The survey results will be presented as an information document for the Panama meeting with the objective of being used as resource material for government delegations in their deliberations.