IPBES

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

What exactly is IPBES?

IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) is an intergovernmental body that provides scientific advice on biodiversity policy, comparable to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This biodiversity platform was created to provide political decision-makers with reliable, independent and credible information on the status and development of biodiversity and to enable them to make well-informed decisions on its protection.

At an intergovernmental conference in Busan/South Korea in June 2010, the international community adopted a document paving the way for the IPBES. In December 2010, the UN General Assembly confirmed this decision. Further key aspects of the IPBES were resolved at the 26th session of the UNEP Governing Council in February 2011. The first preparatory plenary session took place in Nairobi from 3 to 7 October 2011. At this session important decisions were taken, inter alia, on the administrative structure of IPBES and on the basic principles and procedural regulations in order to ensure the swift development of the intergovernmental platform and its structures.

Germany has long advocated the establishment of an intergovernmental platform to provide scientific advice on biodiversity policy. Much of the credit for the constructive and successful IPBES process can be attributed to Germany’s Presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) between 2008 and 2010.

IPBES was formally established by the international community at the second preparatory plenary session which took place in Panama from 16 to 21 April 2012. Open issues such as the work programme will be discussed at the first official IPBES plenary session, which will be held in Bonn, Germany, from 21 to 26 January 2013.

Germany's application for IPBES

A decision on the future location of the IPBES Secretariat was also taken at Panama. The Federal Republic of Germany had applied to host the Secretariat in Bonn, where other UN secretariats already reside. Competing bids had been made by India, France, Kenya, and South Korea. The decision in favor of Bonn pays tribute Germany's longstanding and continuous commitment to global biodiversity conservation. The German Government will now see to a swift, well-coordinated and successful establishment of IPBES and ensure a smooth and efficient operation of the platform in order to facilitate the full and effective participation of representatives from developing countries. Offices for the IPBES headquarters will be provided at an ideal geographical and infrastructural location, enabling the best possible support for and coordination of networking and global IPBES activities.Based on criteria established at the first plenary session in October 2011 for choosing a host country for the IPBES Secretariat, an application by the German government was drawn up. The application was submitted to the Chair of the IPBES Bureau and to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by the given deadline on 15 January 2012.The brochure which Germany published in spring 2011 to communicate its basic interest is available for download.

IPBES: International Expert W orkshop on Policy Support

From 7-9 December 2011 around 80 international experts from 41 countries took part in a workshop in Bonn focusing on the IPBES topic "policy support through relevant tools and methodologies". The workshop was hosted by Germany in coordination with UNEP, and was part of the preparations for the 2nd session of the IPBES plenary to be hosted by UNEP from 16 - 20 April 2012 in Panama.In Germany's view, IPBES policy support is of particular relevance. The scientific results of IPBES must be user-friendly: to provide a key basis for day-to-day political decision-making, they must be able to respond to specific requests and inform policymakers. Germany' aim in hosting this international workshop was to advance this important topic and thus contribute to the international process.The workshop was prepared and organised by the Network forum for biodiversity research Germany (NeFo) at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).

Further information on the workshop, in particular for participants

BMU/BMBF workshop on the incorporation of German scientific expertise into the IPBES

On 7 and 8 July, some 100 experts from research, administration and civil society convened in Bonn to discuss their expectations of the IPBES and how Germany’s wealth of scientific expertise can be incorporated into the work and structures of the IPBES.The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), assisted by the Network-Forum for Biodiversity Research, organized this two-day workshop to ensure that Germany will be able to contribute to the forthcoming negotiations on the establishment of the IPBES in October with a powerful commitment and specific proposals.

Closing document from the event

English version (PDF, external link, 43 KB)
German version (PDF, external link, 73 KB)

Further information on the workshop may be found here: www.biodiversity.de

First IPBES plenary session to take place in Nairobi from 3 to 7 October

At this year’s session of the UNEP Governing Council in February 2011, delegates called on the UNEP Executive Director to hold an initial IPBES plenary session in 2011 to resolve IPBES procedures. This initial IPBES plenary session will now take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 3 to 7 October 2011.

Meeting agenda (PDF, external link, 30 KB)

Key agenda items will include the legal basis, procedural regulations and administrative structure of the IPBES, together with criteria for selecting host organisations and host country. The session documents and further information on the process will be published on the Internet in due course at www.ipbes.net/plenary-sessions/first-session-of-plenary.