In May, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released the landmark Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which showed an alarming decline in nature and its contributions to people. The report, the first of its kind in 14 years, provides indispensable scientific advise on the state of the natural environment. Written bu an international team of leading researchers, the report revealed the world needs transformative change if life on Earth is to be safeguarded and people are to continue to receive the services and benefits that nature provides.
The report makes clear the link between the threats nature is facing and human drivers of change; humans are destroying the natural resources and ecosystems we they need to survive.
Changes in land and ocean use, exploitation of plants and animals, climate change, pollution and invasion of so-called alien species are the main drivers of the loss of nature seen over the past 50 years. To reverse this situation, we need to make changes to the way societies grow, consume and move. These are all things that can be address by regional development policies. We urgently need transformative policies that put the environment at the centre of development. For this to happen, the link between policy makers and biodiversity information is crucial.
The BID-REX report "Better data, better decisions" provides some recommendations on how biodiversity information can be better incorporated in decision-making processes.
