Future Earth-IPBES workshop on the future of biodiversity and human well-being

The sixteen Fellows of the IPBES Global Assessment will lead a workshop and ‘Biodiversity meets the Arts Evening’ on the sidelines of the 6th Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in Medellín, Colombia from 17-24 March 2018.

The workshop and Arts Evening are made possible by generous co-funding from Future Earth, IPBES and the Norwegian Government. These activities will consolidate the Future Earth – IPBES partnership and in particular the synergies between IPBES and the Natural Assets Knowledge-Action Network (KAN). The IPBES-Future Earth Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed at the 5th IPBES Plenary in 2017. The workshop and Arts Evening are a fitting celebration of the collaboration between the two organisations. 

The IPBES Fellowship Programme was launched to promote the integration of early-career experts into science-policy interfaces. The 16 Fellows of the IPBES Global Assessment consist of a global transdisciplinary team of sixteen emerging biodiversity and ecosystems services experts, from all inhabited continent with ten from developing countries. The programme of activities in Medellín aims to shape transformative thinking for the future of biodiversity and human well-being by engaging stakeholders and policy-makers through a focus on culture and the arts. The workshop activities build on the role of culture within the IPBES framework while adopting arts-based processes to foster deeper connections with biodiversity and stakeholders.

The workshop and participation of IPBES Fellows in the 6th Plenary will strengthen linkages between IPBES and Future Earth particularly among the next-generation of IPBES and Future Earth leaders.  The subsequent outputs and outcomes contribute directly to the aim of the IPBES-Future Earth Partnership to develop robust research to shape global governance and policy to protect the planet’s natural support systems for present and future generations. Connecting IPBES Fellows with world-leading mentors from the Natural Assets KAN and IPBES as well as international and national policy-makers at 6th Plenary provides the unique opportunity to consolidate meaningful intergenerational partnerships for sustainability. By facilitating intergenerational equity and new types of science, the workshop also enables Future Earth’s vision of a sustainable and equitable world.