Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

(IPBES) 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services www.ipbes.net

I have selected highlights from the policymaker summary and have largely followed the sequence in that summary.  I have reorganized some sections and (for the most part), follow the order and arrangement of the bold-faced sections in “Background” of the Summary, which begins on page nine of the IPBES policy summary.  The authors of the IPBES reports qualified their conclusions/findings with expressions such as “well established,” “established but incomplete,”and “inconclusive,” depending on the strength of studies and other criteria underlying each area of concern. (See Global Trends table below).  I include these comments, as well as the sections in the various reports which further elaborate these findings.  These sections are enclosed by { }.  There is a vast amount of material in the various reports, which are hyperlinked below. 

For those unfamiliar with the goals and scope of the IPBES effort, we include the link to the IPBES Global Assessment Preview, which summarizes the assessment. https://www.ipbes.net/news/ipbes-global-assessment-preview

Assessment Reports Links

1.  Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/pollinators

2.  Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

https://www.ipbes.net/global-assessment-report-biodiversity-ecosystem-services

3.  Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/ldr

4.  Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/eca

5. Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Asia and the Pacific  

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/asia-pacific

6.  Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Africa

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/africa

7.  Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Americas

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/americas

8.  Assessment Report on Scenarios and Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

https://www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/scenarios

Status of Nature and Ecosystem Services—Highlights from the Summary for Policymakers

(“Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services” published in draft form 29 May 2019.) Summary for Policymakers-Advance Draft

Nature and its vital contributions to people, which together embody biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are deteriorating worldwide

Nature’s goods and services:  Global trends

Global trends in the capacity of nature to sustain contributions to good quality of life from 1970 to the present, which show a decline for 14 of the 18 categories of nature’s contributions to people analyzed. Data supporting global trends and regional variations come from a systematic review of over 2,000 studies {2.3.5.1}. Indicators were selected on the basis of availability of global data, prior use in assessments and alignment with 18 categories. For many categories of nature’s contributions, two indicators are included that show different aspects of nature’s capacity to contribute to human well-being within that category. Indicators are defined so that an increase in the indicator is associated with an improvement in nature’s contributions.

Humanity is a dominant global influence on life on earth, and has caused natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems to decline (well established)