Call for nominations of fellows to participate in the methodological assessment of the impact and dependence of business on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people

Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders,

The IPBES Plenary, in decision IPBES-7/1, adopted the rolling work programme of IPBES up to 2030 (set out in annex I to the decision), which includes under its first objective a methodological assessment of the impact and dependence of business on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people (“business and biodiversity assessment”).

This assessment is aimed at categorizing how businesses depend on, and impact, biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people and at identifying criteria and indicators for measuring that dependence and impact, taking into consideration how such metrics can be integrated into other aspects of sustainability. For more information, please see the scoping report for the assessment as set out in annex I to decision IPBES-9/1, accessible here.

Further to the call for nominations of experts for the business and biodiversity assessment (EM/2022/31), Governments and relevant institutions and organizations are herewith invited to nominate candidates to participate in the IPBES fellowship programme for the business and biodiversity assessment.  

All Governments and relevant organizations or institutions are encouraged to submit nominations. Nominating organizations or institutions are not required to have been admitted to the Plenary of IPBES as an observer. Please help us to disseminate this call for nominations of fellows widely.

The IPBES fellowship programme, which is part of a larger capacity-building portfolio of activities, targets early-career individuals who wish to gain experience by participating in the work of IPBES. Selected fellows will participate in the preparation of the chapter of the assessment for which they are selected, and their contribution acknowledged as part of the citation for that chapter. Fellows will attend author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes and the science-policy interface. Fellows will also be paired up with a mentor for the assessment period.

IPBES is seeking candidates with expertise in impacts and dependencies of business on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people from all relevant business and financial sectors (formal and informal), including but not limited to forestry, agriculture and food systems, marine and freshwater fisheries and other uses of wild species, water resources, recreation and tourism, pharmaceuticals, energy, infrastructure and mining. Candidates are sought from a diversity of backgrounds and a diversity of disciplines including accounting, climatology, ecology, economics, finance, gender studies, hydrology, law, material design and engineering, public health, risk assessment, and trade. Governments and organizations are encouraged to support disciplinary, regional, gender and expertise (including diverse knowledge systems) balance through their nominations.  Please follow this procedure for nomination:

• Nominees are invited to complete the application form and attach their curriculum vitae through the dedicated web portal at https://ipbes.net/application/business-and-biodiversity/fellow (to access this page you will need to log in with your IPBES website log in credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES website will need to do so at https://ipbes.net/user/register).
• Please note that the nomination form is in English only and applications should be submitted in English, as the assessment process will be conducted in English;
• The nominating Government or organization (Nominator) indicated by the Nominee will receive an email with a link to the nomination form and will be invited to approve and submit the nominations in the web portal;
• Nominators and Nominees will receive a confirmation via email once the nomination has been duly submitted.

Interested early career individuals wishing to be nominated by a Government are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point (https://www.ipbes.net/national-focal-points) regarding any country-specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by 1 November 2022.  Nominators (Governments or organizations) are invited to approve the applications and submit their nominations by 15 November 2022. Early nominations ahead of the deadline are encouraged. Fellows will be selected by the management committee of the business and biodiversity assessment, which includes the co-chairs of the assessment and members of the IPBES Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel.

More information on the IPBES fellowship programme including selection criteria and available support to selected fellows, can be found on the IPBES webpage: https://ipbes.net/ipbes-fellowship-programme.

I thank you in advance for your nominations and your continued support to IPBES.

Dr. Anne Larigauderie | Executive Secretary

Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)