Global scientists convene in Kathmandu for IPBES nexus assessment

New Delhi: Over 130 leading scientists and subject experts from 70 countries have gathered in Nepal's capital Kathmandu for the third author meeting of the IPBES nexus assessment, which will examine the interlinkages among the sustainable development goals related to food and water security, health for all, protecting biodiversity, and combating climate change.

The meetings, hosted by Nepal's Ministry of Environment and Forests and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, will be held from February 5-9, with a summary for policymakers scheduled for February 10-11.

This is the first time an IPBES assessment meeting is being held in South Asia.

Established in 2012 with 145 member states, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) functions similarly to the IPCC for climate change, with an aim to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The nexus assessment seeks to enhance understanding of the intricate relationships between biodiversity, water, food, and health in the context of climate change. The goal is to identify options for improved policies and foster collaboration across related sectors.

'IPBES is very pleased that this vital author meeting for the most complex assessment we have ever undertaken is being hosted in Kathmandu,' said Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of IPBES.

“The warm hospitality and invaluable expertise of our ICIMOD colleagues, combined with the awe-inspiring biodiversity and vistas of Nepal, provide excellent impetus for the final stages of the drafting process of the IPBES nexus assessment,' Larigauderie said.

'In addition to the privilege of hosting an IPBES assessment author meeting of such importance, we see this is an opportunity to highlight critical biodiversity and related issues in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) to a very distinguished group of global experts and the IPBES Secretariat,' said Izabella Koziell, Deputy Director General, ICIMOD.

"To protect the HKH region, we must collaborate, make scaled investments, and forge partnerships for transformative change,” Koziell said.

Reflecting on the importance of the meeting for the region, Sunita Chaudhary, Ecosystem Services Specialist at ICIMOD and lead author for the assessment, noted: 'It is high time that global leaders and scientists recognise and act for mountains and mountain communities.' Nakul Chettri, Senior Biodiversity Specialist at ICIMOD, said, 'Global science-policy processes such as IPBES and IPCC could be instrumental to highlight the fate of mountains that cover close to one quarter of Earth's land surface.' Previous IPBES assessments have highlighted critical global challenges and priority actions, informing, and shaping conservation planning and priority setting across the world.

The IPBES assessment of invasive alien species, published in 2023, highlighted the threats that more than 3,500 of the more than 37,000 alien species introduced by humans to new regions and biomes around the world, pose to nature, economy, food security, and human health.

In addition to their role in 60 percent of global plant and animal extinctions, the annual costs of biological invasions were estimated at more than a staggering $423 billion in 2019.

Similarly, the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, published in 2019, warned that nature was 'declining at rates unprecedented in human history' and that some 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades.

The IPBES Pandemics Report (Escaping the 'Era of Pandemics', 2020), warned of more frequent, deadly, and costly pandemics, underlining that the human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on the environment.