The World Biodiversity Council’s deliberations on the first global report on the state of nature since 2005 begins on Monday, April 29, 2019 in Paris, with representatives from 132 Member States participating in the discussions.
The aim is to create a shared common understanding of the state of nature, problems and possible solutions by Saturday, May 4. The report will be published on Monday, May 6.
For three years, scientists from all over the world have been working on the foundations for the now beginning consultations in the World Biodiversity Council (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services / IPBES).
In total, around 450 authors from more than 50 countries have come together to work together to develop the global level of knowledge on the following questions:
- How have biodiversity and ecosystem services changed globally over the past 50 years?
- What are the main causes of the changes?
- Where do we stand regarding achieving important international commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)?
- What do the forecasts show by 2050 on the development of biodiversity and ecosystem services?
- What action can be taken to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services?
German Environment Minister, Svenja Schulze, said: “With regard to climate protection, the reports of the IPCC were decisive pioneers for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the worldwide efforts to protect the climate. Species extinction is a similar global challenge as climate change. So, I hope that the world community can do something similar here: If we can agree on a common, scientifically sound state of affairs, this can help us develop solutions together.”
The so-called executive summary will now be discussed and adopted by the member states at the 7th IPBES Plenary in Paris from April 29 to May 4, 2019. The text will also be presented on May 6 in Paris. At the same time, the G7 environment ministers are meeting in Metz, France, which will also be focusing on species extinction and biodiversity conservation this year.
The World Biodiversity Council IPBES is an intergovernmental body for scientific policy advice on biodiversity and ecosystem services. IPBES is like its older sister IPCC for Climate (“IPCC”). Currently, 132 states (including Germany) are members of IPBES. Germany is one of the biggest financiers; the secretariat of the World Biodiversity Council is in Bonn.
Prof. Dr. Josef Settele from the Leipzig Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has been co-chair of the Global Assessment Report since 2016, involving a total of 40 German authors.
The Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) support the work of the scientists and the office for the preparation of the global report with funding. In addition, both ministries set up the German IPBES coordination office in 2014.
