Call for nominations of fellows to participate in the Nexus and Transformative change assessments

Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders,

The Plenary, at its eighth session, held online from 14 to 24 June 2021, approved the undertaking of the following two assessments, for consideration by the Plenary at IPBES 11 (decision IPBES-8/1):

• The thematic assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food and health (nexus assessment), as outlined in the scoping report set out in annex I to the decision (available here); and
• The thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity (transformative change assessment), as outlined in the scoping report set out in annex II to the decision (available here).

Further to the call for nominations of experts for the nexus and the transformative change assessments (EM/2021/17, sent 19 July 2021) Governments and relevant institutions and organizations are herewith invited to nominate candidates to participate in the IPBES fellowship programme for the nexus and transformative change assessments.

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.

Nominated early-career scientists should have multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary expertise, expertise in one or more disciplines of natural science, social science or the humanities, be indigenous and local knowledge experts or have expertise in indigenous and local knowledge systems. All nominees should have experience in working within interdisciplinary, international and/or global contexts. IPBES is particularly looking for fellows with a scientific background in:

• For the nexus assessment: environmental, ecological, biological, economic, or social science research on interrelations among biodiversity (including terrestrial, marine, and freshwater) and one or more elements of the nexus—water, food systems, human health and climate change mitigation and adaptation including relevant aspects of the energy system. Relevant areas of expertise include agroecology; habitat restoration; sustainable resource management; systems analysis; land and resource tenure; natural resource governance; resource economics; distribution, equity and/or justice related to effects of policy or response options; indigenous knowledge of natural systems, ways of relating to them, and management options; behavioral and decision sciences; sustainable development; conservation planning and implementation; sustainable finance; water, sanitation and hygiene; integrated water resource management; watershed management; planetary health, One Health, or other integrated approaches to health; environmental determinants of infectious and non-communicable diseases; sustainable and nutritious food systems; biosafety; climate and health; climate change impacts; climate mitigation and adaptation options; energy and/or transportation infrastructure; energy system transformation; anthropology; urban and/or landscape planning and design; development, planning or implementation of policy, finance and/or other socio-political response options for sustainable futures; local, regional, or national management in sectors associated with the nexus; multi-objective planning, sustainable development scenarios and pathways analyses within the nexus sectors.
• For the transformative change assessment:  environmental, ecological, biological, economic, technological, social, cultural, political or behavioural science research related to transformative change needed for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human wellbeing, and sustainable development; indirect drivers of biodiversity change; development or use of scenarios and pathways of transformative change; the theory of transformative change and the role of transformative change in the context of different value systems and knowledge systems, worldviews and paradigms; the personal and philosophical dimensions of transformations; decision-making for, or implementation of transformative change at local, regional, national, or international scales.

Governments and organizations are encouraged to support disciplinary, regional and gender balance through their nominations.

Please follow this procedure to nominate fellows:

1. Nominees are invited to complete the application form and attach their curriculum vitae through the dedicated web portal at the links below (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:
   • Nexus assessment: https://ipbes.net/applications/nexus-fellows
   • Transformative change assessment: https://ipbes.net/applications/transformative-change-fellows
2. 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;
3. 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 20 September 2021. Nominators (Governments or organizations) are invited to approve the applications and submit their nominations by 27 September 2021. Early nominations ahead of the deadline are encouraged. Fellows will be selected by the management committee of the respective 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://www.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)