Finnish Environment Institute’s expertise in nature assessments and the IPBES Plenary

IPBES: strengthening the science-policy interface

IPBES aims to enhance the interaction between science and policy in addressing issues of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. It is often compared to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Both panels provide evidence-based knowledge to support the implementation of international agreements, the CBD and UNFCCC, serving governments, societies, and the global community.

“Assessment reports are the most visible outcome of the science-policy work and the collaboration between scientists and IPBES members,” explains Eeva Primmer, Research director at Syke. Member States give a mandate for the assessment reports and approve their summaries for policymakers. “This process ensures that evidence-based assessments address the different needs of all IPBES member countries,” Primmer adds.

This December, IPBES will publish two key reports: the Nexus Assessment and the Transformative Change Assessment. The Nexus Assessment explores interlinkages between biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change, providing options for decision-making that consider these intersectoral connections. The Transformative Change Assessment identifies the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss and the critical factors needed to achieve systemic change for a just and sustainable world. Both reports have been authored by more than 100 of the world’s leading experts from every region. The reports are expected to be released on December 17 (Nexus) and 18 (Transformative Change).

"Both assessment reports are the result of a global collaborative effort by the scientific community, with science-based recommendations shaped through intergovernmental negotiations. However, a clear distinction is maintained between the scientific foundation and the policy process. The authors of the assessment reports are bound by confidentiality and cannot participate in the actual negotiations," explains Soile Kulmala, Group manager at Syke, who contributed to the writing of the Nexus Assessment.

Finnish Environment Institute’s experts at the heart of IPBES Work

Finnish Environment Institute experts play a central role in IPBES activities. Syke’s Research director Eeva Primmer is a member of the IPBES Bureau, which oversees, reviews, and advices the platform's operations on behalf of the member States. During the Plenary, she chairs the working group discussing the summary for policy-makers of the Transformative Change Assessment.

Finland has a National IPBES Working Group, coordinated by Syke and chaired by Director general Leif Schulman. The group serves as a national collaboration network for IPBES, gathers Finnish positions and views, prepares for Plenaries, promotes IPBES visibility, and supports Finnish experts' participation in its activities. It is a counterpart of Finland’s national Nature Panel consisting of scientists. Schulman will attend the Plenary as part of Finland's delegation, alongside Syke’s IPBES Working Group Secretary, Coordinator Juuli Närhi. Syke’s Group manager Kaisa Korhonen-Kurki, who leads the EU-funded BioAgora project producing a science service designed to channel biodiversity knowledge to policy, has reviewed the Transformative Change Assessment as an external expert and will attend the Plenary remotely.

Group manager Soile Kulmala is a lead author in the Nexus Assessment and a participant in the Syke-coordinated BIONEXT project which has multiple experts also as authors in the Nexus Assessment. BIONEXT researchers, including Paula Harrison, one of the three co-chairs of the Nexus Assessment, have contributed extensively to the report. The BIONEXT project complements the Nexus Assessment by examining additional interconnections between energy, transport, biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change.

Experts available for interviews

At the end of this press release, you will find a list of experts from Syke and the BIONEXT project available for interviews regarding IPBES-related work. Please contact the experts primarily via email to arrange interviews or contact the IPBES media team directly at ipbes.media@gmail.com. Kindly note that the experts cannot comment on the contents of the reports before their official release.

The 11^th session of the IPBES Plenary will take place from 10 to 16 December in Windhoek, Namibia. The assessment reports are scheduled for release on 17 (Nexus) and 18 (Transformative Change) December. Please note that this timeline is subject to change. For the latest updates, visit the IPBES website.