Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

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

Establishment and early development
In 2010 a resolution by the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly urged the United Nations Environment Programme to convene a plenary meeting to establish the IPBES. In 2013 an initial conceptual framework was adopted for the prospective IPBES plenary.

From 29 April to 4 May 2019, representatives of the 132 IPBES members met in Paris, France, to receive the IPBES's full report and adopted a summary of it for policymakers. On 6 May 2019, the 40-page summary was released. [[File:IPBESCF.svg|thumb|The IPBES Conceptual Framework

• Explanation of arrows (dotted arrows = important, but not the main focus of IPBES):

• Arrow 1 = A society's achievement of good quality of life directly influence institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers

• Arrow 2 = Institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers are the root causes of the direct anthropogenic drivers that affect nature

• Arrow 3 = Direct drivers of change are the immediate cause of changes in nature

• Arrow 4 = Direct drivers of change affect the supply of nature's contributions to people

• Arrows 5, 6, and 7 = Institutions and governance systems and other indirect drivers affect the interactions and balance between nature and anthropogenic assets

• Arrow 8 = Nature's contributions to people affect how people achieve a good quality of life

• Arrow 9 = Direct drivers of change can have direct impacts on the quality of life

• Arrow 10 = Anthropogenic assets directly affect the possibility of achieving a good quality of life through the provision of and access to food, water, energy and livelihood security; health, social relationships, equity, spirituality, and cultural identity ]]

2020 report
On October 29, 2020 the organization issued a preliminary report through Zenodo on its workshop, held virtually on 27–31 July 2020, that proposes a plan for international cooperation to lower risks for pandemics. Lowering the frequency and severity of pandemics through implementation of worldwide policies is the objective of the organization. An article on the report was published by Medical News Today on November 7, 2020, that explicates information in the report.

Nature’s contributions to people
IPBES proposed a new term for ecosystem services, calling them “Nature’s Contributions to People” (NCPs). This change was met with immediate objection from some scientists, who worried that the new term would be confusing and that NCPs were not significantly different from ecosystem services.

2021 report with IPCC
In June 2021, IPBES and IPCC released a co-sponsored workshop report on biodiversity and climate change. The workshop produced a summary report covering outcomes, and a 250 page scientific outcome report.

Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity in 2022
In October 2022, the IPBES and the IPCC shared the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, because the two intergovernmental organisations "produce scientific knowledge, alert society, and inform decision-makers to make better choices for combatting climate change and the loss of biodiversity".