Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A coalition of 90 associations in 17 European countries have launched a European Citizens Initiative (ICE) signature collection to “ban pesticides, transform agriculture and save nature.” The ICE campaign cites the IPBES pollination assessment and its finding that current industrial farming practices threaten pollinator species.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Thirty Jamaica Stock Exchange-listed companies, across various sectors are embarking on a process to assess their current levels of biodiversity mainstreaming into their strategies and activities. The companies were motivated to undertake the process in response to the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment, according to EWT industry partnership senior manager Constant Hoogstad who said that there was “more than ever a need for businesses to step up their biodiversity game.” The companies are being supported by a World Wide Fund for Nature-South Africa Nedbank Green Trust project team.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In the United States, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice to launch a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, alleging that it has “failed to decide whether 274 imperiled animals and plants across the country should be federally protected.” In its official statement on the lawsuit, the Center for Biological Diversity cites findings from the IPBES Global Assessment, including that one million species are at risk of extinction.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples, introduced the Tribal Wildlife Corridors Act of 2019 to “support the use of wildlife corridors on Tribal lands.” Udall cited the IPBES Global Assessment and its finding that one million species are at risk of extinction as reason for passing the Act.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A research article titled “Values held by Swedish primary school students towards forest ecosystems and the relevance for a nature’s contributions to people approach,” published in the journal “Ecosystems and People,” draws extensively on IPBES’s concept of Nature’s Contributions to People. The article’s findings “support the approach taken by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in incorporating diverse forms of value into valuation methods, as well as by taking a mixed-methods approach.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) announced that it is inviting proposals under its Capacity Development Programme for funding from September 2020. To receive funding, proposals must be relevant to global change and sustainable development. The APN further invited proposals that “contribute to the capacity development components of the evolving global change arena, including IPBES” and which take as their topic “ecosystem-based adaptation in the context of international processes such as IPBES.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The French Ecological Defense Council, founded after President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with IPBES experts days after the release of the Global Assessment, held its third meeting and announced new commitments to protect biodiversity. During the 7 November meeting at the Elysée Palace, the council focused on addressing the artificialisation of soils, the conversion of wasteland, the protection of nature and the enhancement of forests. The council announced that it will abandon the Europacity project, a mega shopping and leisure center envisaged in the north of Paris, to protect local biodiversity.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In an article published in “Project Syndicate,” Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, and Alvaro Cedeno Molinari, the former Costa Rican ambassador to Japan and the World Trade Organization, draw on the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment to call for increased focus and action on biodiversity. The authors explain that an “understanding of the need for stronger conservation policies has yet to take hold, putting the world's ecosystems increasingly at risk.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A group of scientists published a paper in volume 88 of ScienceDirect titled “Constraints and opportunities for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy: Insights from the IPBES assessment for Europe and Central Asia.” Based on insights generated in IPBES’s regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia, the paper points out main findings regarding key shortcomings of the current Common Agricultural Policy, as well opportunities to enhance the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services through it.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Referencing evidence from IPBES Global Assessment Report, Government of Ireland Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht launches The Biodiversity Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan with the goal to protect biodiversity from the impacts of climate change and to conserve and manage ecosystems. The Plan follows the declaration of a climate change and biodiversity emergency by Lower House of the Irish Parliament in May 2019 similarly inspired by IPBES Global Assessment Report.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In Italy a citizens' initiative was formed to "fight against climate and ecological collapse". "Ecological People's Assembly of the Gulf" aims to urge the citizens of the district of Formia to commit themselves to "more radical policies to make human activities sustainable from an environmental and social point of view". The statement references the IPBES Global Assessment report as evidence of the growing need for urgent action. The first action of the initiative is to request the regional government to declare a climate and environmental emergency.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The 6 November 'Beijing Call for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change' reaffirms support for the Paris Agreement, commits to addressing biodiversity and climate as connected issues to drive an effective response at CBD COP15.

"...we, the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, meeting in Beijing on 6 November 2019 call on all countries and, when relevant, sub-national authorities, companies, NGOs and citizens to:

- Welcome the international initiatives to fight against climate change and to halt the biodiversity loss;

- Communicate or update their nationally determined contributions in a manner representing a progression beyond the current one and reflecting their highest possible ambition, and to publish their mid-century long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies by 2020 in the context of sustainable development;

- Ratify, as soon as possible, and implement the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, recognizing that the Kigali Amendment could prevent up to 0.4c of warming by the end of century, and that coordinated efforts to improve the energy efficiency of air conditioners and other cooling equipment will have additional environmental benefits, including the reduction of emissions, public health and food security, and undertake action to improve energy efficiency in the cooling sector globally;

- Value, conserve, restore and wisely use biodiversity, to encourage the engagement of all actors and stakeholders and to support the development and implementation of an ambitious and realistic post-2020 global biodiversity framework;

- Encourage concrete and ascertainable commitments and contributions to biodiversity conservation from actors and stakeholders across all sectors to stimulate and support government action in the promotion of a robust post 2020 global biodiversity framework in the frame of the Sharm El-Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People;

- Join forces in the run-up to the IUCN World Conservation Congress (June 2020, Marseille) in order to conclude with ambitious and realistic outcomes to inform the preparation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework;

- Promote active engagement of political leaders at the highest level in advocacy for biodiversity at CBD COP15 with the theme : “Ecological Civilization-Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth”, in order to realize the vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050 and to define and adopt an ambitious and realistic post-2020 global biodiversity framework building on the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and addressing main drivers of loss of biodiversity;

- Work together to define milestones in order to bend the curve of biodiversity loss by 2030, by protecting an ever growing part of the planet, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services;

- Capitalize on the Nature-Based Solutions Coalition co-lead by China and leverage Nature-Based Solutions to coherently address biodiversity loss, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and land and ecosystems degradation. Recognize that Nature-Based Solutions an essential component of the overall global effort to achieve the goals of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement and to reach the SDGs by supporting vital ecosystem services, biodiversity, access to fresh water, improved livelihood, healthy diets and food security from sustainable food systems;

- Commit, in the perspective of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, to take appropriate and ambitious actions to halt and reverse the degradation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biodiversity loss, and restoring at least 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems that are restorable thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, protection of biodiversity, combatting desertification and land degradation, and food security;

- Fight environmental crime, in particular smuggling and trafficking of endangered species of flora and fauna and derived products, as well as illegal transboundary movements of solid waste, by banning the illegal entry and exit of these objects across borders;

- Protect all important ecosystems, including mountain, aquatic, forest, grassland, as biodiversity hotspots, and also considering their role in addressing and tackling climate change, and lower our respective footprint on forests, especially the impact of agriculture and forestry;

- Mobilize all States towards an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention or the law of the sea for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (“BBNJ”);

- Address marine litter, especially marine plastic litter and microplastics and to swiftly take appropriate national actions for the prevention and significant reduction of discharges of plastic litter and microplastics to the oceans;

- Promote the conservation and restoration of marine ecosystem;

- Promote the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources in accordance with the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and continue discussions on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in the Antarctic, including by establishing a marine protected area there;

- Fulfill the commitments by developed countries to provide and mobilize US$100 billion each year for climate finance by 2020 and to set a new collective quantified goal from a floor of US$100 billion per year by 2025, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. In this regard, the Green Climate Fund plays a key role as one of the tools to mobilize more financial resources towards low-carbon and resilient investments in developing countries;

- Urge public, domestic and international development finance institutions, and their collaborative networks, such as the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), to consider both the positive and negative impacts on climate and biodiversity related to their financing, in line with the UNFCCC, the Paris agreement and the convention on biological diversity objectives;

- Mobilize additional resources from all sources, both public and private, at the domestic and at the international level, towards both climate adaptation and mitigation; make finance flows consistent with pathways towards low greenhouse emissions and climate-resilient development, as well as for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, the conservation of oceans, land degradation amongst others; ensure that international financing, particularly in the infrastructure field, is compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris climate agreement.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A draft resolution in the European Parliament has near unanimous support for the European Union to 'set an example for the future' at the 2020 Convention on Biological Diversity COP15, in light of the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment and the dire state of nature. Alexandr Vondra from the European Conservative and Reformists grouping indicated his groupings support for the resolution, noting that “protecting biodiversity is a conservative act.”

Full text reproduced:

MEPs say EU should promote global climate agreement similar to Paris climate agreement at COP15 in 2020
Brussels, 06/11/2019 (Agence Europe)

One million species are threatened with extinction, according to an assessment by the IPBES: Members of the European Parliament's Environment Committee, alarmed by the catastrophic situation facing global biodiversity, all recognised on Wednesday 6 November in Brussels, the urgent need for action to ultimately preserve this essential resource for life on earth.

There was almost unanimous agreement on the need for the EU to use the occasion of COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (Kungming, China, October 2020) to ensure that the post-2020 global framework results in a clear roadmap with ambitious, binding, measurable targets, as well as performance and monitoring indicators. All political groups, with the exception of the ID Group, support the draft resolution that has been discussed. This project is of the opinion that the EU must set an example for the future Kungming Agreement to be for biodiversity, what the Paris Agreement is for climate change – two interdependent phenomena (see EUROPE B12322A10).

This implies, they say, a radical shift in approach to finding nature-based solutions, measuring the value of terrestrial and marine biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, ensuring the coherence of EU policies, and combating global deforestation.

The deadline for tabling amendments is Thursday 7 November. The vote in committee is scheduled for 2 or 3 December; with the vote in plenary scheduled for January 2020 (to be confirmed). The Council of the EU could then adopt its conclusions either at the end of the year or in early 2020 (see EUROPE B12294A4).

“We have only one heartbreaking report to present. No targets have been met: neither the Aichi global targets, nor the European 2020 targets. There is an urgent need for biodiversity conservation to become an absolute priority, just has been the case with the fight against global warming”, said Agnès Evren (EPP, France).

According to César Luena (S&D, Spain), nature-based solutions could help reduce emissions by more than 30% by 2030. He has called for a greater level of ambition in terms of sanctuary areas, with a target of 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050, and for “the sector to pay up”.

According to María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew Europe, Spain), the key point is to find solutions that are based on nature, and which help to mitigate climate change. She was adamant that the focus should be on land usage. “We must work within a comprehensive, binding, inclusive and ambitious framework, putting in place implementation, monitoring and accountability mechanisms.”
According to Ville Niinistö (Greens/EFA, Finland), there is an urgent need for climate and biodiversity. With the sixth massive extinction of species right on our doorstep, we need to “change our production and consumption patterns”. According to him, the ongoing CAP reform does not sufficiently take into account biodiversity issues: “agriculture and forestry must be factors used for protecting biodiversity, not destroying it. The EU must also adopt a progressive and global approach to deforestation”.

Hence Sylvia Modig's (GUE/NGL, Finland) hope that the Environment Committee “will be involved in the reform of the CAP, because if we only listen to agricultural and forestry lobbies, we will not make any progress”.

Alexandr Vondra (ECR, Czech Republic) said his group was willing to move forward, because “protecting biodiversity is a conservative act”. He emphasised the importance of integrating biodiversity objectives into sustainable development goals, providing implementation mechanisms at all levels, and technology transfers.

The Commission representative noted that the Green Deal announced by Ursula von der Leyen is intended to make the EU the world's leading climate-neutral continent and includes a biodiversity strategy by 2030 in order for the EU to take the lead at COP15.

According to him, one issue remains: whether the Convention on Biological Diversity might introduce a new concept of contributions determined at a national level, with a view to creating a new element of measurability, which would be verifiable through a system to be put in place.

(Original version in French by Aminata Niang)

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) French beauty house Guerlain has partnered with UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for a major sustainability initiative to preserve bees and biodiversity. One of the four main focus areas will be the measurement of the benefits of the pollination in the local ecosystems to act on the IPBES Pollination Assessment Report.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) As a result of the impact of the IPBES Global Assessment, Coordinating Lead Author Dr. Andy Purvis has been appointed to the planning board of the UK Natural History Museum for their Year of Biodiversity programme of events for 2020.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Norwegian Environmental Ministry has prepared an overview and summary of key findings from the IPBES Global Assessment to drive their own calls to action based on the findings.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In an address to the Tokyo Seafood Sustainability Symposium Japanese Vice Minister of the Environment Hiroshi Kamagata referenced data on coral bleaching and coral death in Japan, citing the IPBES #GlobalAssessment as well as the Asia-Pacific #RegionalAssessment Report.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Thirty leading South African businesses have teamed up with WWF South Africa and the Wildlife Trust (EWT), which are jointly leading the project. They have taken note of the urgency of the Global Assessment and decided to undertake biodiversity valuation assessments to determine how to cost-effectively mainstream biodiversity into their strategies and practices. Given the key key findings of the IPBES report, "there was, “more than ever”, a need for businesses to step up their biodiversity game."

A key output for the project will be an online toolkit which includes a free biodiversity performance self-assessment questionnaire, business case studies and biodiversity mainstreaming guidelines organised in nine steps.The project is expected to publish their conclusions in Q3/Q4 2021.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Save Bees and Farmers!” European Citizens’ Initiative alliance is a growing network of currently over 100 environmental NGOs, farmer and beekeeper organisations, charitable foundations and scientific institutions distributed throughout the European Union, working together to reconcile agriculture, health and biodiversity. The petition cites the IPBES Global Assessment as a key motivation for this call to phase-out synthetic pesticides and promote agroecology, among other pollinator-friendly policies.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) During the closing remarks of the Convention on Biological Diversity's 23rd meeting of the subsidiary body on scientific, technical and technological advice, Acting Executive Secretary Elizabeth Mrema noted the robust impact of the IPBES Global Assessment on the post-2020 framework discussions throughout the conference. As she noted, the urgency of taking actions to address the inseparable challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change were stressed in accordance with the key findings.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A grouping of "nearly all civil society organizations and non-profit organizations" at the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) 23rd meeting of the subsidiary body on scientific, technical and technological advice (SBSTTA) issued a statement critical of CBD Parties, criticizing a 'glaring gap' between the science of the IPBES Global Assessment and the ambitions displayed by Governments.

The CBD Alliance statement, issued at the conclusion of the SBSTTA meeting, was endorsed by Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) , WWF, Born Free Foundation, Greenpeace, Ecoropa, EcoNexus, Avaaz, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Friends of the Earth International, Pro Natura Switzerland, The Nature Conservancy, BirdLife International , IFAW, Conservation International, The Pew Charitable Trusts , Save our Seeds, Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) and ETC.

The CBD Alliance states: "SBSTTA has the mandate to discuss the scientific evidence base for the post-2020 framework. The science has never been clearer. The IPBES report tells us that unprecedented biodiversity and ecosystem loss is eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health, cultures and quality of life worldwide. This undermines the development gains that were made in the past decades and the wellbeing of future generations and all living beings.

We also have unprecedented levels of evidence and knowledge about what must be done: transformative change is essential and needed urgently, and is still possible. The longer we wait, the higher the damage and costs for society as a whole, present and future. This will require an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework, addressing direct and indirect drivers, focused to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. This needs to include strong mechanisms for better implementation, including a whole government approach so those in charge of the drivers are bound to act."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The Oji River Local Government has passed a new law, the “Primate Rights Bill,” which extends protection to primates found in the communities of Akpugoeze and Inyi, Nigeria. Government officials issued a statement heavily leaning on the IPBES Global Assessment as a key motivation for local action to address the global biodiversity crisis.

The statement said, “In a report released in May 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, which is an independent intergovernmental body comprising more than 130 governments; www.ipbes.net) announced that nature is declining globally at rates unmatched in human history. In addition, the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the planet now likely.

The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive ever completed. Compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries over the past 3 years, with inputs from another 310 contributing authors, the report assesses changes over the past 5 decades. Findings in the report show that about 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica and and Alvaro Cedeno Molinari, the Former Costa Rican Ambassador to Japan and the WTO, have jointly penned an article outlining 10 key priorities for a robust post-2020 biodiversity framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity and citing the IPBES Global Assessment key findings .

The authors state, "Given that such losses to biodiversity will jeopardize the future of humankind itself, the time for effective public and private leadership is now – or never."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Making extensive use of the IPBES Global Assessment findings, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) argues for urgent action for and investment in nature protection - especially in 2021 during the UN CBD COP15 in Kunming, China.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) A study in “Nature Sustainability” examines knowledge gaps in the IPBES Regional Assessments. The authors explain that “to guide research that better informs policy and practice, we systematically synthesize knowledge gaps from recent assessments of four regions of the globe and three key themes by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. We assess their relevance to global sustainability goals and trace their evolution relative to those identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Drawing on the finding of the IPBES Global Assessment that one million species are at risk of extinction, American Humane has published a "new series of free books from American Humane and Chicken Soup for the Soul that aims to instill the love of animals into young people, encourage them to protect disappearing species, and support humane conservation."

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) An article in Börse Online draws extensively on the findings of the IPBES Global Assessment to explain why biodiversity brings investors returns. The author, Sonia Fasolo, explains that “taking into account "Socially Responsible Investment", i.e. environmental and social aspects, pays off for investors as well as for companies.”

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) In response to the IPBES Global Assessment and the findings it highlighted about the state of biodiversity around the world, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a number of measures to protect biodiversity in French territories. Macron announced plans to protect 30% of marine and terrestrial land in France and French territories to protect species. Macron also committed to building a scientific base in l’île Glorieuse and developing sustainable economic activities in its territories.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) The IPBES Global Assessment and key findings from the Report were cited within the text of United States Senate Resolution 372 in the 116th Congress, a bill which suggests that "the Federal Government should establish a national goal of conserving at least 30 percent of the land and 30 percent of the ocean within the territory of the United States by 2030."

Namely, the findings that 1 million species face extinction, the direct drivers of biodiversity loss and five specific facts were incorporated in the bill to justify this proposal: ((A) human activities are damaging 2⁄3 of ocean areas; (B) only 3 percent of ocean areas remain pristine; (C) 15 percent of mangroves remain; (D) 50 percent of coral reefs remain; and (E) at the current rate of losses, less than 10 percent of the Earth will be free of substantial human impact by 2050);.

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Multiple organizations representing “farmers, bee-keepers, cooks, civil society organisations, activists, consumers, young and old from urban and rural areas across Europe” have penned an open letter to Members of the European Parliament. The signatories call for action to protect biodiversity and slow climate change, to create a better future for farming. The letter cites the IPBES Global Assessment as proof that decision-makers must “act urgently and decisively”.