The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

Twenty years after the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force, the founding of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in 2012 was the outcome of a long process of setting biodiversity issues at the top of the global environmental agenda. With contributions from more than a dozen well-renowned researchers in political science, law and sociology, this book analyzes IPBES functioning and challenges in terms of the knowledge selection process and actors involved. The book reveals that, through its conceptual framework, IPBES promotes a pluralistic view of nature that calls for a broadening of the disciplinary frontiers. It combines natural science and social science research and also includes indigenous and local knowledge. IPBES is considered to represent the institutionalization of a permanent knowledge assessment on biodiversity and is often referred to as an IPCC success story, constituting a new stage in global environmental governance. In analyzing the knowledge selection process for IPBES decision making, the book better situates IPBES within the biodiversity and global governance domain. It ultimately argues that the establishment of IPBES provides a new opportunity to coordinate the different international conventions (CBD, RAMSAR, CITES, etc.) and initiatives (international assessment of marine biology, scientific programs, funding, etc.).

Marie Hrabanski and Denis Pesche are researchers in political sociology at CIRAD (Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), Montpellier, France. Within the research unit UMR ART-Dev, their work focuses on international biodiversity policies.

1. Introduction, Analyzing IPBES Functioning within the Biodiversity Regime Complex and Beyond Marie Hrabanski and Denis Pesche 2. IPBES and Governance of the International Biodiversity Regime Complex Daniel Compagnon and Philippe Le Prestre 3. The Birth of a Science-policy Interface for Biodiversity: The History of IPBES Alice Vadrot 4. IPBES Mandate and Governance Denis Pesche, Guillaume Futhazar and Sandrine Maljean 5. From Climate to Biodiversity: Procedural Transcriptions and Innovations within IPBES in Light of IPCC's Practices Guillaume Futhazar 6. The IPCC Experience and Lessons for the IPBES Daniel Compagnon and Wolfgang Cramer 7. Making the IPBES Conceptual Framework: A Rosetta Stone? Maud Borie and Denis Pesche 8. Building Process, Effectiveness and Limits of an IPBES Stakeholder Group Marie Hrabanski, Mohamed Oubenal and Denis Pesche 9. Capacity Building for Global Science-policy Interface Activities: Establishment of the IPBES Task Force on Capacity Building Selim Louafi 10. Indigenous Challenges under IPBES: Embracing Indigenous Knowledge and Beyond Claudio Chiarolla and Annalisa Savaresi 11. First Thematic Assessment on Pollination: Between the Legitimization of IPBES and Tensions Regarding the Selection of Knowledge and Experts Fanny Duperray, Marie Hrabanski and Mohamed Oubenal 12. Conclusion Philippe Le Prestre