News

First external review now open for the IPBES values assessment

Environment & Climate
New announcement by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) just announced the start of the external review for the first order drafts of the chapters of the IPBES methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its contributions, including biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services (IPBES values assessment).

The period for this first external review of the values assessment is from 29 July until 22 September 2019.

This assessment builds on previous work done by IPBES and other initiatives in connection to values and valuation of nature and its contributions to people. The values assessment aspires to provide the most robust knowledge available to date on the role of values and valuation to understanding the past, present and possible futures in connection to decision-making, including policy making.

“The assessment aims to become a tool to increase the quality of decision-making related to nature and its contributions to people and provides an overview of the theories, methods, and current evidence regarding values and valuation” said Dr Anne Larigauderie, IPBES’ Executive Secretary, adding that it seeks to become a key outcome to improve decision-making across contexts and scales.

One of the most important phases in the IPBES assessment process, she explained, is the external review by interested and qualified experts, including scientists, decision makers, practitioners and other knowledge holders. The widest-possible participation and most diverse engagement of experts in this first external review is vital to ensure the scientific quality and policy relevance of this assessment.

Those who would like to participate as an expert reviewer in this external review, please follow these steps:

1) Register as user of the IPBES website (https://www.ipbes.net/user/register) if you have not already done so;

2) Apply to become an IPBES external reviewer for individual chapters of the values assessment at https://www.ipbes.net/registration-values-fod (this will only work when logged in first as IPBES website user);

3) Once registered, external reviewers will immediately receive an email providing confidential access to the draft chapters and will be requested to submit their comments in English using a template that is available on the same webpage.

For more information, check IPBES’ website.