Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

The overall objective of IPBES is to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being, and sustainable development.

The assessment is entitled "Thematic Assessment of the Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss, Drivers of Transformative Change, and Solutions to Achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity." It is part of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Vision 2050 and its Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022 by its States Parties.

The Platform's Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2019) concluded that there are possible pathways to achieve the 2050 Vision for biodiversity alongside key human development goals. However, these pathways require fundamental changes in development paradigms and socio-ecological dynamics, leading to societal transformations that address inequalities and governance, use land, water, energy, and materials much more sustainably, and appropriately rethink and change consumption patterns, food systems, and global value chains. The assessment informs policymakers about options for implementing transformative changes to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The assessment also informs subnational, national, regional, and global policies on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems, natural resources, and nature's contributions to people.

Targets: governments; governing bodies of multilateral environmental agreements; decision-makers within global policy frameworks, subnational governments, and local authorities; scientists; education systems and the media; the private sector and civil society, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, youth, women, and non-governmental organizations.

The assessment takes into account—at different scales around the world—psychological, behavioral, social, cultural, economic, political, governance, institutional, demographic, technical, and technological dimensions, all of which have an impact on biodiversity.

What are transformative changes?

For the purposes of the assessment and in line with previous IPBES work approved by its Plenary, transformative change is defined as a profound system-wide reorganization of all technological, economic, and social factors, including paradigms, goals, and values. Deliberate transformative change for a just and sustainable world alters views, structures, and practices in ways that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature decline.

The assessment of transformative change is divided into five chapters written by five sub-groups of authors. Each chapter has specific objectives.

Chapter 1: Transformative Change and a Sustainable World

• Defines transformative changes and explains why they are necessary.
• Exploration of all actors who influence and impact biodiversity degradation.
• Reflection on how the spatio-temporal framework complicates or facilitates transformative change.
• Framework and roadmap for evaluation.

Chapter 2: Visions of a sustainable world for nature and people

• Reflection on the challenges that transformative change can present, drawing on science and the diversity of norms and values around the world.
• Presentation of different values and visions for a sustainable world, as well as scenarios that illustrate them.

Chapter 3: How transformative changes occur

• Presentation of how transformative changes occur, with a focus on changes that can be intentionally promoted, accelerated, and calibrated in order to achieve a sustainable world.
• Understanding these deliberate changes to highlight ways to generate and nurture them.

Chapter 4: Overcoming the challenges of transformative change for a sustainable world

• Assessment of barriers that hinder transformative change.
• Presentation of ways to overcome these obstacles in order to promote global, local, and regional visions of a sustainable world for nature and people.

Chapter 5: Achieving a sustainable world for nature and people: transformative strategies, actions, and everyone's role

• Evaluation of strategies concerning institutions, instruments, assessment, and pathways for achieving the visions of a sustainable world presented in the previous chapters.
• Development of desirable paths and means to achieve them, including short-, medium-, and long-term options and actions.

• Three co-chairs: Lucas Garibaldi (Argentina), Karen O’Brien (Norway), Arun Agrawal (United States)
• 15 principal coordinating authors
• 61 lead authors
• 10 editors-proofreaders
• 12 young researchers
• 101 authors in total

Management Committee: Markus Fischer, Özden Görücü, Floyd Homer, Madhav Karki, Asia Mohamed, David Obura.

Technical Support Unit: Laurence Perianin (Manager), Camille Guibal (Program Manager), Anouk Renaud (Program Assistant)

The assessment took place over three years, from 2022 to 2024, with an approval phase for the assessment and selection of the team in 2021 and a project closure phase from January to July 2025. The assessment was adopted at the^11th IPBES Plenary held in Windhoek, Namibia, in December 2024.

2021

• June: Approval of the assessment of transformative changes by the 8th Plenary Session of IPBES (decision IPBES-8/1).
• August 26: Opening of nominations of experts by governments and stakeholders.

2022

• July:^9th IPBES Plenary Meeting in Bonn, Germany – Progress report on the assessment.
• January: IPBES appoints the co-chairs, lead coordinating authors, lead authors, and editors-reviewers for the assessment.
• April: Creation of the technical support unit for evaluation at the University of Montpellier.
• May 9–13: First meeting of authors in Montpellier with the entire assessment team: co-chairs, coordinating authors, lead authors, editors-reviewers, members of the technical support unit, and the assessment management committee.

2023

• February 3 to March 17: First external review (6 weeks) – draft chapters made available for public review on the IPBES website.
• May 22–26: Second meeting of authors with the entire evaluation team, at the CATIE campus in Costa Rica.
• May 27–29: First meeting to draft the summary for policymakers (SPM) with the evaluation management committee and lead coordinating authors (CATIE Campus – Turrialba, Costa Rica).
• May 30: Capacity-building webinar conducted live from the CATIE campus and broadcast to the UM for the scientific community.
• August 22 to September 2: 10th IPBES Plenary Meeting in Bonn, Germany – Progress report on the assessment.
• September 27–29: Second meeting to draft the summary for policymakers (Trondheim, Norway).
• December 4, 2023 to February 2, 2024: Second external review (8 weeks) of chapter drafts and the draft summary for policymakers made available on the IPBES website for public review.

2024

• February 19 to 23: Third meeting of authors in Montpellier, France.
• February 18, 25, and 26: Third meeting to draft the summary for policymakers (Montpellier, France).
• April 24–26: Fourth meeting to draft the summary for policymakers (Montpellier, France).
• July¹ to August 11: Additional review of the draft chapters and summary for policymakers by governments.
• October 15 to November 26: Final external review (6 weeks) – final version of the draft summary for policymakers and chapters made available for review by governments.
• December 10–16: Review by the 11th plenary session of IPBES of the summary for policymakers for negotiation/approval and presentation of chapters for acceptance.
• April 7: Presentation of the report adopted at an event at the University of Montpellier.
• Post-approval of the evaluation: editing and communication activities following the adoption of the evaluation.