Important Insights of the IPBES Regional Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia

Abstract

Based on requests of IPBES member governments this assessment was elaborated by a team of more than 120 authors from 2015 to 2018. It shows, based on about 4000 sources, that nature provides broader contributions to people than acknowledged earlier. Further it shows that, while food production and energy biomass have increased, most other contributions decreased over recent decades. While high biodiversity would be required to provide multiple contributions of nature to people, the biodiversity of marine, inland surface water and terrestrial habitats and taxa also declined largely. Most of these trends were due to land and water use, and climate change, pollution and invasive species also played important roles. The assessment report further shows that most scenario studies of future development suggest further declines in biodiversity and nature's contributions to people and they suggest that climate change will become an even more important driver of change. These scenario studies also suggest that the contributions of the Europe and Central Asia region to the Aichi Targets and to the Sustainable Development Goals relevant for the scope of the assessment are unlikely to be met. The assessment concludes by providing information on potential pathways and opportunities for decision makers toward a sustainable future. These opportunities include mainstreaming biodiversity, integration among sectors, and participation of multiple actors in governance.