Global Biodiversity Panel To Close Gulf Between Science and Policy

International delegates have endorsed the creation of a science policy panel on biodiversity and ecosystem preservation, which proponents hope will serve as a bridge between scientists and governments in reversing biodiversity loss. The Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which was approved at a UN meeting in South Korea, will oversee peer reviews of the latest science on the decline of the natural world and assess appropriate government responses. The group will be modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which plays a leading role in forging global climate policy based on the latest science research. “IPBES represents a major breakthrough in terms of organizing a global response to the loss of living organisms and forests, freshwaters, coral reefs and other ecosystems that generate multi-trillion dollar services that underpin all life — including economic life — on Earth,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme. The idea for the panel emerged after the 2005 publication of the UN’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which concluded that the degradation of the planet’s natural resources and ecosystems threatens humanity’s ability to sustain future generations.