Preparations for IPBES 8 and other upcoming activities

Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders,

In notification EM/2021/07 it was announced that the eighth session of the IPBES Plenary (IPBES 8) will be held online from 14-24 June 2021. I am pleased to announce that advance versions of the working documents for the session are available at https://ipbes.net/event/ipbes-8-plenary.

Due to the online nature of IPBES 8, a preparatory process for IPBES 8 has been initiated in December 2020. The scoping reports for the nexus and transformative change assessments and the interim work plans for the five IPBES task forces were made available for an additional review on 17 December 2020 (EM/2020/39). The documents were revised and finalized as document IPBES/8/3 (scoping report for the nexus assessment), document IPBES/8/4 (scoping report for the transformative change assessment) and document IPBES/8/7 (interim work plans for the task forces). In order to support the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel and Bureau in preparing for IPBES 8, Governments are invited to submit final comments on the three documents using the template provided here to the IPBES secretariat by 24 May 2021. The IPBES Chair may make revised versions of these documents available as Chair’s notes shortly before IPBES 8.

I would also like to bring to your attention that in response to a request set out in decision IPBES-7/1, on the rolling work programme of IPBES up to 2030, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel has commenced a study reviewing the use and impact of the IPBES conceptual framework. A draft of the study will be made available for external review from 1 June to 31 July 2021. The Multidisciplinary Expert Panel will take into account any comments received in finalizing the study for consideration by the Plenary at its ninth session.

In response to decision IPBES-7/2, on the review of IPBES at the conclusion of its first work programme, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel and the Bureau reviewed feedback and insights into the IPBES assessment process and decided to recommend for approval by the Plenary at its eighth session that an additional round of review by Governments of the summary for policymakers of the values assessment be piloted between July and August 2021. Such an additional round of review would be intended to enhance the policy relevance of the summary for policymakers and facilitate the consideration of its final version by the Plenary at its ninth session.  

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

Yours sincerely,

Dr Anne Larigauderie | Executive Secretary
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)