Call for nominations of experts for the second global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services (3 February to 6 April 2025)

Dear IPBES members, observers and other interested stakeholders, 

The IPBES Plenary, in decision IPBES-11/1, approved the undertaking of a second global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The overall objective of the second IPBES global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services (referred to hereafter as “the second global assessment”) is to assess relevant knowledge that has become available since the publication in 2019 of The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and to assess progress towards achieving the goals of sustainability and living in harmony with nature. The second global assessment will strengthen the science-policy interface on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people on a range of spatial scales, from the local to the global, by providing the knowledge and the policy support tools needed for informed decision-making. The second global assessment will be delivered in 2028.

In line with decision IPBES-11/1 and the procedures for the preparation of IPBES deliverables, the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel herewith invites qualified experts to apply, and Governments and relevant organizations to confirm their applications (nominate experts) to participate in the second global assessment.

The assessment will be conducted in line with the procedures for IPBES deliverables set out in decision IPBES-3/3, annex I (available here) and based on the scoping report for the assessment (available here). 

The assessment will be conducted by an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team of experts. The expert team will represent a diverse range of backgrounds, disciplines and knowledge systems, including Indigenous and local knowledge systems, and have regional and gender balance.

Experts should have experience in the conduct of regional and global analyses relating to nature and nature’s contributions to people in terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems. They should have expertise relevant to the global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in one or more disciplines within natural science, social science or humanities. IPBES is, in particular, seeking experts with an interdisciplinary background. IPBES is also looking for experts on Indigenous and local knowledge, for policy experts and for practitioners in a field relevant to this global assessment.

Governments and relevant stakeholders are invited to include in their nominations experts and practitioners with diverse backgrounds and expertise, and ensure gender balance in their nominations.

All nominated experts (nominees) need to be available to attend the relevant author meetings, with the first author meeting tentatively scheduled for end of November 2025. 

All Governments and relevant organizations or institutions are encouraged to submit nominations;  nominating organizations or institutions are not required to have been admitted to the Plenary of IPBES as an observer. Please help us to disseminate this call for nominations of experts widely. 

Please follow the below procedure for nomination: 

• Sharing the call of nomination: All Governments and relevant organizations or institutions are invited to disseminate this call to any qualified experts who may be interested in contributing to the second global assessment.
• Completing the application form (experts/practitioners): Interested experts and practitioners are invited to complete the application form and attach their curriculum vitae through the dedicated web portal at https://www.ipbes.net/second-global-assessment/experts-application (to access this page you will need to log in with your IPBES website log in credentials. Nominees not yet registered on the IPBES website will need to do so at https://ipbes.net/user/register). Please note that the nomination form is in English only and applications should be submitted in English, as the assessment process will be conducted in English; 
• Approval and formal nomination (Governments/organizations): The nominating Government or organization (nominator) indicated by the expert/practitioner (nominee) will receive an email with a link to the nomination form and will be invited to approve and submit the nominations in the web portal; 
• After nomination: Nominators and nominees will receive confirmation via email once the nomination has been submitted by the nominator. 

Experts or practitioners wishing to be nominated by a Government are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point (https://www.ipbes.net/national-focal-points) regarding any country specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by 28 March 2025. Interested experts are highly encouraged to review the information document summarizing IPBES assessment conditions and roles prior to submitting their application (link). 

Experts that are selected for a role within an IPBES assessment accept the relevant conditions for the assessment, including that the time contributed to IPBES is committed on a pro-bono basis. Experts from developing countries will receive support to attend author meetings and possibly other relevant meetings. Experts from developed countries are to secure their own funding to participate in the meetings.

Nominators (Governments or organizations) should submit the nominations of all nominees, which they would like to support, before 6 April 2025. Early nominations ahead of this deadline are encouraged. 

An online dialogue meeting will be organized to facilitate and strengthen engagement by Governments and stakeholders in the nomination of experts and fellows. The meeting will provide information regarding the required relevant expertise of nominees and the nomination process, and will also provide an opportunity for current and previous IPBES experts and fellows to share their experiences. The dialogue meeting is scheduled for 12 March 2025 at 1 p.m. CET. More information will follow shortly.

I thank you in advance for your nominations and your continued support to IPBES. 

Yours sincerely,

Dr Anne Larigauderie | Executive Secretary
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)