IPBES9: Bonn to Host Global Biodiversity Seminar from July 3

The ninth Plenary Meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES9) will take place in Bonn from July 3-9, 2022. Representatives from 140 governments will gather in the German city to discuss two new scientific reports on the sustainable use of wild species and nature values and valuation.

The most recent physical IPBES meeting (Paris, 2019) saw the release of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which warned the world that millions of plant and animal species were on the verge of extinction, with many facing extinction within decades.

German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke praised IPBES's "important work":

“... particularly its emphasis this week on values and the sustainable use of wild species — as a critical contribution to global, regional, and national efforts to more effectively protect biodiversity. Our policies and actions must be based on this kind of science and evidence, especially as we get closer to a new global biodiversity framework being agreed upon at the UN Biodiversity Conference in December.”

The plenary is also expected to consider authorizing the start of a new multi-year IPBES assessment of business-biodiversity links.

The ninth session will conduct a thematic evaluation of the sustainable use of wild species and provide a methodological analysis of multiple aspects of nature and the benefits they provide, including biodiversity and ecosystem services and functions.

The event will also assess the scope for a methodological assessment of the business's impact and reliance on biodiversity, as well as nature's contribution to people.

About IPBES:

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an intergovernmental organization that was founded to improve the interface between science and policy on biodiversity and ecosystem services issues. It is meant to play a role similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.