Description of Impact(s) (English Only) More than 70 signatories, representing a range of civil society organisations, wrote an open letter to the Consumer Goods Forum, citing IPBES and IPCC findings about the way in which food is produced and consumed as a leading driver of the nature crisis - calling on all CGF members to act boldly to halt deforestation, species loss and human rights abuses in their supply chains.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) ShareAction has released "Point of No Returns - Biodiversity: An assessment of asset managers’ approaches to biodiversity," which highlights the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment as part of its executive summary and overview of the state of biodiversity. The report explains that "the 2019 landmark report released by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) illustrates starkly the extent to which human activity is eroding the world’s ecological foundations."

ShareAction is a non-profit working to build a global investment sector which is responsible for its impacts on people and planet. "ShareAction is a campaigning organisation pushing the global investment system to take responsibility for its impacts on people and planet, and use its power to create a green, fair, and healthy society. We want a future where all finance powers social progress. For 15 years, ShareAction has driven responsibility into the heart of mainstream investment through research, campaigning, policy advocacy, and public mobilisation. Using our tools and expertise, we influence major investors and the companies they invest in to improve labour standards, tackle the climate crisis and address inequality and public health issues."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Christoph Heusgen, the German Ambassador to the United Nations, made an appeal during a World Environment Day briefing for better protection and sustainable use of natural ecosystems. Ambassador Heusgen cited the IPBES Global Assessment which “lays bare the crisis of biodiversity loss.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A workshop focused on the development of a new national park in the Netherlands used a scenario framework building on the Nature Futures Framework developed by IPBES scenarios and models experts, particularly the IPBES task force on scenarios and models.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) An article on "Building capacity for the science-policy interface on biodiversity and ecosystem services: Activities, fellows, outcomes, and neglected capacity building needs" has been inspired by IPBES, with the aim of "provid[ing] insight into how capacity building for the science-policy interface sets preconditions for science-policy relations at different levels and scales within biodiversity and ecosystem services and beyond."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) report, titled "Paraside lost? Why investors must address the biodiversity crisis next" has integrated key findings from the IPBES Global Assessment into this ESG report.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Natural History Museum of Vienna has joined a global alliance for biodiversity, citing findings of the IPBES Global Assessment as evidence of the urgent need to address biodiversity loss. The NHM Vienna highlights the steps it has been taking to protect biodiversity and explains that it “can and will make an important contribution to [biodiversity conservation] with its scientific expertise and diverse points of contact with society.” The NHM Vienna further explains that “the new worldwide alliance for biodiversity...offers an ideal basis for common global approaches.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A perspective paper titled “Improving collaboration between ecosystem service communities and the IPBES science-policy platform” was published in the journal “Ecosystems and People.” The paper synthesizes “reflections from a workshop on how (i) IPBES can engage the ES community; (ii) the ecosystem services (ES) community can engage with IPBES; and (iii) individual scientists can contribute.” The authors “note that IPBES constitutes a great advancement towards multidisciplinarity and inclusivity in ES research and practice” and make key reflections directed to IPBES, the ES community and individual scientists.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) An article from the Parliament of the European Parliament highlighted the finding of the IPBES Global Assessment that one million species are at risk of extinction due to human activity, underpinning the article's call to action. The article explored the importance of biodiversity, the dangers of biodiversity loss and actions currently being undertaken by the EU Parliament to protect nature.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) draws on findings of both the IPBES Global Assessment and the IPBES Regional Assessment for Africa, in policy brief on proposals for key African priorities for the negotiaton of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The IPBES Global Assessment is cited multiple times in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The strategy draws on the Global Assessment as evidence of the urgent need to address biodiversity loss and refers to multiple facts compiled in the Assessment.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In a webinar focused on “Biodiversity and Preventing Future Pandemics,” participants cited IPBES findings. ACB Executive Director Theresa Mundita Lim cited a recent IPBES guest article that stated “there may be around 1.7 million unidentified viruses believed to still exist in mammals and water birds that can infect people.” The webinar participants included IPBES Founding Chair Zakri Abdul Hamid.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The IPBES Global Assessment is cited in an open access article titled “Soil invertebrate diversity loss and functional changes in temperate forest soils replaced by exotic pine plantations”. The article, which appears in the journal “Nature” examines “how forestry plantations of exotic trees affect critical soil functions and the composition of invertebrate assemblages”.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Drawing inspiration from the finding of the IPBES Global Assessment that one million species are at risk of extinction due to human activity, an online art campaign posted on Twitter and Instagram showcases artwork that feature animals at risk of extinction.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A research paper published in the journal “Ecosystems and People” draws on the IPBES conceptual framework of nature’s contributions to people. The paper, titled “Nature’s contribution to adaptation: insights from examples of the transformation of social-ecological systems”, concludes that the plurality of human-nature relationships included in the IPBES conceptual framework is “is needed to integrate ecosystem transformation into adaptation thinking and action while engaging a diversity of actors with differing world views.” The authors accordingly frame “the capacity of ecosystems under climate change to enable future human needs under the IPBES framework of nature’s contributions to people” and “introduce the concept of Nature’s Contribution to Adaptation (NCA) as a means to operationalise transformative adaptation, emphasising the need to create options for society to transform under ecosystem transformation.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Germany has asked IPBES to gather science for policy options to prevent future pandemics and protect nature and people. Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze stated that she would “appreciate it if IPBES ascertained the global level of knowledge on these issues, collated the information and made it available to policymakers throughout the world. The international community has the opportunity to adopt a new global biodiversity strategy after the pandemic – and thus to show that it has learned from the pandemics of the past."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The World Meteorological Organization cites findings of the IPBES Global Assessment in its Statement on the State of the Global Climate 2019.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Norwegian Climate Agency in Oslo commissioned the CICERO Center for Climate Research and the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) to assess knowledge from reports from the IPCC and IPBES and what this means for Oslo.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development cited findings from the IPBES Global Assessment in their report on managing the biodiversity impacts of fertiliser and pesticide use. The report provides overview and insights from trends and policies across selected OECD countries.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The World Biodiversity Forum cited IPBES in its final Resolution, following its inaugural meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The Resolution calls for “strong collaboration between the CBD and IPBES and the Forum as a part of linking up with the science community”. The Resolution also cites the findings of IPBES as justification for its appeal to “national governments and international organisations to act responsibly and without delay towards biodiversity by including all relevant stakeholders with the ultimate goal to safeguard all life on Earth.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Scottish government cites the IPBES Global Assessment multiple times in the Environmental Strategy for Scotland: Vision and Outcomes, published 25 February 2020. The strategy seeks to respond to the biodiversity crisis and global decline in nature illustrated in the Assessment.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A major study authored by 21 global biodiversity and climate scientist draws on IPBES findings to analyze the effects of land conservation and climate action on extinction rates in the tropics. The findings of the study show that “limiting climate change to 2°C and conserving 30% of terrestrial area could more than halve aggregate extinction risk compared with uncontrolled climate change and no increase in conserved area.” The findings were revealed at the first Davos Global Biodiversity Forum.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) 130 Party countries to the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals affirmed the Gandhinagar Declaration on CMS and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework during CMS COP 13. The Gandhinagar Declaration sends a strong message on the importance of migratory species for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The Declaration cites with concern the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment, including that nature and its vital contributions to people are facing an unprecedented decline and that one million species are now at risk of extinction.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) During the 13th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Parties updated and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation between CMS and IPBES. An official document prepared by the CMS Secretariat during COP outlines methods for increasing cooperation between IPBES and the CMS Parties, Scientific Council and Secretariat and highlights the importance of the work of IPBES for the CMS.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, draws on the IPBES Global Assessment in an article following the 2020 gathering of the Aspen Ministers Forum. Albright provides context for a statement released on 18 February 2020, signed by 23 former foreign ministers calling on world leaders to protect biodiversity. Albright highlights the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment, including that “the current rate of extinction is two to three times higher than the average rate over the past ten million years. As a result, up to one million species now stand threatened.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group letter urged the World Health Organization to abolish wildlife markets, citing the IPBES Global Assessment. The joint letter by the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan and other groups was signed by 208 organizations and individuals around the world. The letter refers to the finding of the IPBES Global Assessment that one million species are at risk of extinction, as well its identification of the five leading direct drivers of biodiversity loss.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) draws extensively on the IPBES Global Assessment in its 2020 Global Futures Report. The report, aimed primarily at decision-makers in governments and the public sector, urges transformative change across all sectors to reverse the dangerous decline of nature. The report uses evidence synthesized by IPBES as the basis for many of its appeals and also builds upon the foundations of the Global Assessment.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The global Luxury Group Kering and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, with Biodiversify, published a primer on how companies in the fashion industry can build a biodiversity strategy and transform their relationship with nature. The primer was prepared in order to highlight the unhealthy dynamic between humankind and nature, as illustrated in the IPBES Global Assessment.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) U.S. Representative Deb Haaland (NM-01), joined Reps. Joe Neguse (Colo.-02), Ted Lieu (Calif.-33), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.-07), and Ed Case (Hawaii-01) to introduce the Thirty by Thirty Resolution to Save Nature to set a goal for the United States to conserve at least 30% of the ocean and land by 2030.

In a press conference, Rep. Haaland said, “Globally, the loss of nature – accelerated by climate change – is putting up to one million species on the path to extinction. Conserving our lands and waters is essential to protecting humans and wildlife and stabilizing our climate, so I’m following the direction from leading scientists and introducing this resolution to set a national goal of conserving 30 percent of America’s land and oceans by 2030 to tackle this urgent crisis.”

The legislation is a companion bill to S. Res. 372 introduced by Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) in October 2019.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In its submission to the Convention on Biological Diversity Post-2020 Framework on Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Industrial Sectors, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) reflected on the role of business in mainstreaming biodiversity. The ICMM referred to the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment as evidence of why a fresh approach to business and biodiversity is necessary. The ICMM explained that “we all depend on ecosystems for our survival, this rapid reduction of the world’s precious natural diversity is cause for great alarm. However, as the report also states, it’s not too late for us to make a difference.” The ICMM submission includes fundamental actions to be adopted by ICMM members, as well as suggestions for global and national policy.