The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), up and walking

Abstract

editorial ISSN 1948‐6596 The Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), up and walking Introduction The success story of the IPCC , putting climate change on the agenda of politicians and science financing bodies worldwide, is meant to be dupli‐ cated by the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 2 , which focuses on the global biodiversity crisis and the services we get from nature. After its initiation in January 2013 in Bonn, Germany, the second plenary (IPBES‐2) was held in Antalya, Turkey, between December 7 th and December 14 th . At IPBES‐2 an ambitious work programme was adopted for the years 2014–2018. Eight as‐ sessments (see Table 1 and Figure 1), three of which are intended to be finished as soon as 2015, and 2016 respectively, will be taken on in this ini‐ tial work phase, in addition to a range of other deliverables aimed at fulfilling the Platform’s other three functions: capacity building, knowl‐ edge generation and policy tools (Figure 1). The initial “thematic” assessment on “pollination and food production” is meant to pro‐ vide an ‘early win’, given that this biodiversity is‐ sue is already highly relevant and a lot of perti‐ Figure 1. Schedule for delivery of the work programme. Numbers 1–7 refer to milestones: (1) ‘preliminary’ and (2) ‘final’ principles and procedures for working with indigenous and local knowledge; (3) ‘preliminary’ and (4) ‘final’ guide on how to use scenarios and modelling in the Platform’s work; (5) ‘preliminary’ and (6) ‘final’ guide on how to use values, valuation and accounting in the Platform’s work; (7) guidance on policy support tools. Source: Decision of the second Plenary of IPBES 2 . 1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, at http://www.ipcc.ch/ 2 http://www.ipbes.net/ frontiers of biogeography 5.4, 2013 — © 2013 the authors; journal compilation © 2013 The International Biogeography Society