ICSU begins review of IPBES - International Science Council

Following its selection as the Review coordinator in March, ICSU has now begun the process of reviewing the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The review will be led by an independent 10-member panel selected by the IPBES members states.

The review will examine the effectiveness of IPBES as a science-policy interface, in particular, reviewing the implementation of the four functions:

Scientific assessments: reviewing the state of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services. To date, IPBES has released seven assessments: two thematic (Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production in 2016, Land degradation and restoration in 2018), methodological (Scenarios and Modelling in 2016), and regional (Europe and Central Asia, Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific in 2018). A global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services will be published in 2019.
Policy support: identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies, facilitating their use, and catalyzing their further development,
Building Capacity & Knowledge: identifying and addressing the capacity, knowledge and data needs of member States, experts and stakeholders,
Communications & Outreach.

The review will also look at the functioning of the secretariat, the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement and partnerships, and institutional and financial arrangements. The review will capture lessons learnt from the initial work programme of IPBES – created in 2012 – and provide future-oriented recommendations.

The panel will prepare surveys, conduct interviews and organize its work with a view to assembling a draft review report by October 2018.

Members of the External Review Panel

Name	Affiliation
Mr. Sélim Louafi	Senior Research Fellow, Department of Biological Systems, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
Mr. Ryo Kohsaka	Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Mr. Peter Bridgewater (co-chair)	Adjunct Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology and Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia
Ms. Marina Rosales Benites (co-chair)	Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru
Mr. Karen Jenderedijan	Consultant, Yerevan, Armenia
Ms. Kalpana Lalitkumar Chaudhari	Vice President, Institute for Sustainable Development and Research (ISDR), Mumbai, India
Mr. Kalemani Joseph Mulongoy	Co-founder and President, Institute for Enhanced Livelihoods Inc, Montreal, Canada
Mr. Douglas Beard	Acting Associate Director, Climate and Land Use Mission Area, United States Geological Survey, Reston, VA, United States of America
Mr. Albert S. van Jaarsveld	Vice-Chancelor, University of Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Mr. Nicholas King	Independent consultant, Cape Town, South Africa